A 113-year-old Spaniard survived a coronavirus infection safely. A spokeswoman for the senior residence in Olot in northern Spain, where Branyas has lived for 20 years, said Maria Branyas had overcome the lung disease Covid-19. „She has overcome the disease and is doing very well.“ Branyas is considered the oldest woman in Spain.
Several other residents of the retirement home have died of Covid-19. Spain is one of the worst affected countries in the world by the pandemic. Branyas had been infected in the past month, but the disease had been mild, the spokeswoman said.
Contact with only one nurse
In view of a urinary tract infection and elevated temperature, it was examined and tested positive for the coronavirus. A week ago she was tested again and classified as cured. In the meantime, the woman spent several weeks in her room in the residence. Only a nurse in protective clothing had access, as the TV station TV3 reported. When asked about her longevity, Branyas replied that she was lucky and had robust health.
Her daughter Rosa Moret, who had not been able to visit her mother in the past few weeks, told TV3 that her mother was slowly becoming like before: „She wants to communicate, to explain herself and she is thinking about it.“
A number of articles have been published in Spain about Maria Branyas in recent years. She was born on March 4, 1907 in the United States, where her father worked as a journalist in San Francisco. According to media reports, she has vivid memories of her family’s return to Europe by Atlantic ferry during the First World War. Among other things, Branyas experienced the pandemic of the Spanish flu of 1918, the civil war (1936-1939) and the Franco dictatorship.
