A care home in Belgium lost 18 residents to COVID-19 after a visit from a man dressed as Santa Claus.

The man playing Santa had not reported any symptoms and felt fit and well before the visit although he was reportedly among the first to test positive shortly after appearing at the Hemelrijck care home in Mol in a bid to cheer up its 169 residents.

Officials fear that the person dressed as Santa Claus may have been a “super-spreader” of the virus, with 121 residents and 36 staff members testing positive in the days after his visit.

Mayor of Mol Wim Caeyers told local media: ‘We’re expecting up to ten difficult days. It has been a very black day for the care home.’

‘It is a very great mental strain to bear for the man that played St Nicholas, as well as for the organisers and the staff.’

But pictures of the event showed that not all residents wore masks and that Santa and his little helpers stood within two metres of the elderly.

Mr Caeyers said: ‘Initially [the care home] said that the rules had been followed, but then straight away you receive photos from the families of residents where you can see that this wasn’t the case.’

A spokesman for Armonea, the firm which manages the home, said: ‘The team is very shocked by what happened, but that also makes them very motivated to get the virus out again.’

Belgium has the worst coronavirus deaths per million of its population in the world.

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