Europe's oldest person, a 116-year-old French nun, has survived COVID-19. Lucile Randon, who is known as Sister Andre, tested negative for the coronavirus just days before her 117th birthday.
Sister Andre initially tested positive for the virus on Jan. 16. She was immediately placed in isolation in her retirement home in Toulon in the south of France. Doctors were concerned that she would not survive the symptoms of the disease and closely monitored her condition while she was in isolation.
Doctors said this week that Sister Andre has fully recovered. She told local media reporters that she didn't even realize that she contracted the coronavirus and had felt fine.
Sainte Catherine Labouré retirement home spokesperson, David Tavella, said that Sister Andre was "very lucky." Tavella said that during her isolation, Sister Andre didn't express any concerns about her health. He added that she only wanted to know about her meal and bedtime schedules.
"She showed no fear of the disease. On the other hand, she was very concerned about the other residents," Tavella said.
Sister Andre, who is blind and relies on a wheelchair to get around - will be celebrating her 117th birthday on Thursday this week. She told reporters that she was looking forward to celebrating her birthday even if only a handful of people will be allowed to attend the celebrations.
Unfortunately, not all of the residents at her retirement home have had the same luck. According to officials at the retirement home, 81 of the 88 residents at the facility had tested for the coronavirus this month. Ten of those that tested positive had died.
France currently ranks No. 6 as the country with the most positive case recorded. As of Wednesday, the country has a total of 3,360,235 confirmed cases and 80,147 deaths.
Sister Andre was born in 1904, the year when the construction of the Panama Canal was started. Apart from being Europe's oldest person, Sister Andre is also the world's second-oldest living person, according to the Gerontology Research Group's (GRG) World Supercentenarian Rankings List.
