Gina Dal Colleto
(Photo: Courtesy of Rede D'Or Sao Luiz/Social Media via REUTERS)
97-year-old Brazilian Gina Dal Colleto, the oldest known survivor of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Brazil, is pushed in a wheelchair out of Sao Paulo's Vila Nova Star hospital to applause from doctors and nurses on April 12, 2020, in this still image obtained from a social media video

Just when the entire world suffers from this ongoing pandemic, and almost all people have started to lose hope, here is Gina Dal Colleto, a 97-year-old Brazilian woman breaking all the negativities.

Just yesterday, she was reported as the oldest COVID-19 survivor ever recorded in Brazil. On April 1, the older woman was confined at the hospital as she was experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. 

Only a few people thought she'd ever survived this deadly infectious disease, and on Sunday, she proved those who thought she wouldn't make it wrong.

Here, Dal Colleto was seen being pushed on a wheelchair while going out of the Vila Nova Star Hospital in Sao Paulo, to applause from nurses and doctors considering she's the "oldest known COVID-19 survivor" in this Latin American country hit by the pandemic the hardest.

Her unexpected recovery was indeed considered "a ray of hope in Brazil," a nation where the pandemic has prompted an aggressive political debate, not to mention laid bare a comprehensive public health system over how to address the spread of the infection and prop up the economy of the country.

What's even more inspiring about Dal Colleto's story is that this only survivor of an Italian family composed of 11 siblings, lived by herself, in the port city of Santos, a Rede D'Or São Luiz organization controlled by the Vila Nova Star hospital, according to a statement.

The statement also said, even with almost a hundred years of life, Dal Colleto has quite an active everyday routine.

She reportedly enjoys walking, cooking, and shopping, too. This COVID-19 survivor has "six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren in all." And, while she was at the hospital, the statement said, Dal Colletto stayed at intensive care and was put on oxygen. 

The Current State of Brazil

As of this writing, based on the report from the Health Ministry of Brazil, 23,430 people are confirmed COVID-19 positive, and 1,328 deaths have been recorded in the country.

In relation to this, people experiencing mild symptoms of flu-like illnesses are told to stay at home and undergo quarantine to avoid "putting added pressure on hospitals, and test kits are limited, which point to a much higher unknown infection rate. 

Amidst the growing concern about this pandemic and the loud call for the public's cooperation, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has ironically scraped social distancing measures, even his very own health officials and the state governors imposed.

Indeed, in contrast to the loud call for social distancing measures, the President continued to walk on the street markets and stores where he is frequently asked for some selfies with supporters.

Also, on Sunday, President Bolsonaro said, he "thought that COVID-19 was on its way out of the country," but didn't give any explanation.

The country leader elaborated that seemingly, the issue on this pandemic is "starting to go away," although further unemployment is on its way, and sadly, it's coming hard.

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