Nine nuns die from a COVID-19 outbreak in Michigan

Nine nuns died in January from a COVID-19 outbreak that struck their retirement home in southern Michigan.

The women had retired from active service and lived on the Adrian Dominican Sisters campus in Adrian, 75 miles southwest of Detroit, news channel WDIV reported.

“We spent nine months keeping the coronavirus in check. It slipped in just before Christmas, ”said Sister Pat Siemen to the sales point.

But Siemen said the virus managed to infiltrate the home despite the protocols in place.

“It’s slipping in. That’s the heartache of this virus,” said Siemen. “We haven’t had any guests on campus. Our sisters haven’t seen their family members. They haven’t even seen our other sisters who have been living off campus since it began in mid-March. And yet this virus is very sneaky.”

The outbreak infected at least 48 of the more than 200 residents who live there.

Most of the deceased sisters were at high risk for other health complications, Siemen said.

The sisters – Dorothea Gramlich (81), Helen Laier (88), Jeannine Therese McGorray (86), Charlotte Moser (86), Esther Ortega (86), Mary Lisa Rieman (79), Ann Rena Shinkey (87), Margaret Ann Swallow (97) and Mary Irene Wischmeyer, 94 – died between January 11th and 26th, WDIV reported.

“It’s numbing,” said Siemen. “I have a much deeper appreciation for all of the other families who have been through this. The hundreds of thousands of families. And until it touches you personally, I don’t care how much we can have a compassionate heart. It’s different when you’ve been there and lost someone. “

With postal wires