Maxine Waters says her sister died from coronavirus

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) recently confirmed that her sister died after contracting the coronavirus.

In an interview with the website theGrio on Thursday, Waters said that the experience of losing her sister during a pandemic was one of the hardest experiences of her life.

Waters had previously told colleagues in an emotional House floor speech in late April that one of her family members was dying in a hospital in St. Louis.

Rep. Maxine Waters: “I am going to take a moment to dedicate this legislation to my dear sister who is dying in a hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, right now infected by the Coronavirus.” pic.twitter.com/sX58UK1A3L

— The Hill (@thehill) April 23, 2020

“It is one of the most painful things that I’ve ever had to experience in my life,” Waters told theGrio. “She had suffered. And so we are going through a very difficult time. It was not easy, but in many ways, I’m so glad she’s out of pain.”

Waters did not say which sibling had died. The congresswoman was born in St. Louis as the fifth of 13 children, according to her congressional bio.

Waters said in the interview that her sister had been living in an assisted living home for elderly St. Louis residents, and warned that such facilities can cause the virus to spread rapidly.

“The nursing home is the only place we have for many of our seniors, many of whom have outlived their families,” she said. “That’s where they go. And now these nursing homes are like a petri dish for the continued development of this virus that is killing us.”