MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian 97-old great grandmother survives COVID-19 and is discharged from hospital

Gina Dal Colleto was pushed in a wheelchair out of Sao Paulo's Vila Nova Star hospital to applause from doctors and nurses

When 97-year-old Brazilian Gina Dal Colleto was hospitalized on Apr first with coronavirus symptoms, few could have thought she would survive the deadly virus. But on Sunday, Dal Colleto was pushed in a wheelchair out of Sao Paulo's Vila Nova Star hospital to applause from doctors and nurses, becoming the oldest known survivor of COVID-19 in Brazil, the Latin American country worst-hit by the outbreak.

Her unexpected recovery was a ray of hope in Brazil, where the coronavirus has laid bare a stretched public health system and exposed fierce political debate over how to best tackle the virus' spread and prop up the country's economy.

The sole survivor of an Italian family comprised of 11 siblings, Dal Colleto lived alone in the port city of Santos, Rede D'Or São Luiz, which controls the Vila Nova Star hospital said in a statement.

“Even with almost a century of life, Gina has a very active routine and enjoys walking, shopping and cooking,” the statement said. “She has six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.”

While she was hospitalized, Dal Colleto was put on oxygen and admitted to intensive care, the statement said. On Sunday, Brazil's health ministry said 1,223 people had died as a result of the outbreak, with 22,169 confirmed cases.