At 111, Juana Zúñiga has become the oldest patient in Chile to recover from Covid-19, officials in the South American country have said.

Ms Zúñiga tested positive after an outbreak at her care home.

Despite suffering from respiratory problems even before the pandemic, she was not seriously affected by the virus.

“She did not have any symptoms and very few bouts of fever, which was good,” the care home’s director said.

The care home’s director, María Paz Sordo added that they had to move Ms Zúñiga, who is known as Juanita, to a different part of the home to keep her isolated from other residents. “Taking her out of her habitat was the most difficult thing.”

She has been a resident of the care home near the capital, Santiago, ever since her sister, with whom she lived, died six years ago.

In April, seven staff and 18 residents at the home – among them Juanita – tested positive for coronavirus.

Juanita was moved to an isolation ward, where she was cared for by members of the government’s National Service for the Elderly. She stayed on the isolation ward for 28 days.

Originally from Valparaíso, a city on the Chilean coast, Juanita, who never married or had any children, used to have her own business. She will turn 112 in July.

Chile has more than 82,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and more than 800 people have died.