76 nuns test positive for coronavirus in outbreak at German convent

A further 85 tested negative for Covid-19, church says

The Franciscan Order monastery in Thuine, Germany (AP)

Seventy-six nuns at a Franciscan convent in northwest Germany have tested positive for Covid-19, church officials have said.

The coronavirus outbreak occurred at the site in Thuine, which is near the country’s border with the Netherlands.

While another 85 nuns at the site tested negative for the virus, 160 non-clerical staff, including nurses at a home for the elderly, were still awaiting diagnostic results as of Tuesday.

Quarantine restrictions have been in place at the convent since last week, after the first few cases were detected there.

Sister Maria Cordis Reiker told the Associated Press: “We are grateful that so far nobody is in the hospital.”

Ms Reiker added that it was unclear what will happen to the set of schools that are run by the nuns. However, local health and education officials have been in touch with these institutions.

Germany recorded another 17,270 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, bringing its total number of infections to 1,084,743, while the country’s Covid-19 death toll rose by 487 to 17,123, according to the Robert Koch Institute.

Earlier this week, the institute said new infections were decreasing among young Germans but were increasing among older groups. 

Chancellor Angela Merkel announced last week that an extended lockdown, which started on Tuesday, will last until at least 20 December. 

Additional reporting by AP