Covid19 cases closes Mt St Benedict Abbey, church

Covid19 infections have led to the closure of the Mt St Benedict Abbey and church for over two weeks.

Newsday was told three monks have tested positive for covid19.

A statement on the Mt St Benedict’s Facebook page on Sunday 22, confirmed Abbot John Pereira tested positive for the virus on that same day. Hours earlier, two others were tested and the results returned positive.

It said, “The abbot and community regret the inconvenience caused and the disappointment to all the faithful pilgrims.”

When contacted on Thursday Fr Christian Pereira told Newsday, “One brother was displaying symptoms that looked like covid19. He was advised to take a test but he didn’t think that he had covid19 but he didn’t bother and after a while, one of the other brothers contracted it, most likely from him, and, finally, the abbot of the monastery started to get symptoms.

“Immediately in an abundance of caution, we decided to close the church of the monastery, and also the area where the brothers counsel the pilgrims for confession and other such things.

“We have been given directives by a doctor on what we should do and what medication or vitamins we should take. The abbot has been very vigilant about that.

"In anxiety, he decided to take another test, although it was a bit early. Having taken the test on Sunday, he figured, having the symptoms sometime before, it’s possible by now the covid19 may have left him.”

After testing on Wednesday the results returned positive again.

“It didn’t make sense to test the others because if the abbot has it, and they contracted it around the same time it means everybody has it. The medical personnel who tested the abbot yesterday advised we continue our regimen of isolation and medication and be tested on Wednesday next week. That would give us sufficient time with the hope the covid19 would have left us.”

Since the confirmation of the cases, the church has been sanitised.

Pereira said, “From the onset of covid19 we have never had any incidents among the staff or monks. This is the first time. And even now we have contracted covid19, our sanitisation team has become more vigilant. Although the church is closed we have sanitised the living quarters, the shop and around the monestary.”

He noted only the religious shop remained open.

The church will remain closed to the public until further notice.

He told Newsday the monks had experienced mild symptoms but were doing well overall.

Pereira told Newsday nine people are in quarantine in total. He hoped the church could be reopened late next week.