The oldest inhabitant of Europe survived covid and will celebrate 117th anniversary tomorrow

Andre's sister, née Lucille Randon, was born in 1904, according to The Guardian. She is considered the oldest person in Europe. Now my sister lives in a nursing home in the south of France, near Toulon. 81 out of 88 residents of the institution during the pandemic contracted the coronavirus, 10 of them died. Sister Andre also tested positive last month, however, by her own admission, she did not even feel symptoms. According to the staff of the institution, the only thing she complained about was loneliness: during her illness, the sister was forced to quarantine in her room and could not communicate with other guests or attend Mass.

When the journalists of the French TV channel BFM asked if she felt fear, Andre's sister replied: “No, I was not afraid, because I have no fear of death ... I am happy to be with you now, but I would like to be in another place - there, where is my older brother, grandfather and grandmother". On Thursday, the sister will turn 117 years old, and, according to the staff of the institution, she is waiting for the holiday, although this time it will have to be celebrated in a limited circle.

André worked as a teacher before retiring to a monastery in 1944, when she was 40. She has long lost her sight and moves in a wheelchair, and since 1979 has been living in nursing homes. In the list of the world's centenarians monitored by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG), Sister André is ranked second. The oldest person now is Japanese Kane Tanaka, who turned 118 on January 2. All twenty of the world's top long-livers of GRG are women.

Last year, Sister Andre admitted in an interview with French Radio that she does not know the secret of her longevity: “Only God can answer this question. I went through many misfortunes in my life, and during the war of 1914-1918, when I was still a child, I suffered like everyone else".