Spain’s oldest woman Maria Branyas, 113, beats coronavirus infection

Maria Branyas might have the title of being the oldest woman in Spain but now the supercentenarian has broken another record.

She lived through both world wars and the Spanish Civil War. Now she’s become the world’s oldest reported person to ever survive coronavirus at the age of 113.

Maria Branyas, who is reportedly Spain’s oldest living person, beat COVID-19 after being diagnosed with the virus in April. She self-isolated at the Santa Maria del Tura care home in the eastern city of Olot, Spain and later tested negative, reported Newsflash.

Maria Branyas, the world's oldest reported coronavirus survivor. Picture: Newsflash

Spain currently has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world with 269,520.

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Despite simultaneously suffering from a urine infection, the great-grandmother of 13 was virtually asymptomatic, according to her daughter, Rosa Moret, who called her mum a strong and positive person.

“Now she is fine, she is willing to talk, to explain, to think, she is herself again,” wrote Moret on a Twitter account that she had set up for Branyas. She added that her mum is currently healthy, aside from some small pains, and is grateful to the nursing home staff for their care.

The supercentenarian survivor is lucky. The coronavirus predominantly kills older people, including 17 in one day at her own nursing facility last month, according to the Olive Press.

Maria Branyas, the world's oldest reported coronavirus survivor.

Branyas’ survival story marks yet another inspiring episode in her long and incredible life. Born in San Francisco on March 4, 1907, she eventually moved to Spain in 1915 because of her father’s work as a journalist. He passed away from tuberculosis during the boat trip, and he was buried at sea.

After settling in her new home, Ms Branyas eventually married local doctor Joan Moret in 1931 and had three children, 11 grandchildren – one of whom is 70 years old – and 13 great-grandchildren.

A near-lifetime resident of Spain, the centenarian has lived in Barcelona, Banyoles, Girona, Sant Antoni de Calogne and Palol de Revardit. She has resided at her current nursing home for the past 20 years.

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If that wasn’t impressive enough, Ms Branyas is the oldest person living in Catalonia, Spain, according to the Gerontology Research Group, a global group of researchers in various fields which tracks and documents people over 110.

The supersenior’s victory over the coronavirus places her firmly at the top of an impressive list of centenarian COVID-19 survivors. The former titleholder is Holland’s Cornelia Ras, who bested the disease at age 107.

Ms Branyas’ family eagerly awaits visiting her once she’s out of isolation.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and has been reproduced with permission