Eight nuns living at a convent in the US state of Wisconsin have died in the space of a week after contracting Covid-19.

The School Sisters of Notre Dame of Elm Grove, lost four members of their sisterhood in the space of a single day. 

Debra Sciano, provincial leader of the School Sisters of Notre Dame Central Pacific, said that the sisters were all educators and “role models” who were devoted to their faith community.

“For me, these are wisdom figures - women I have known for all of my 40 plus years in the community,” she told NBC affiliate TMJ4. “Every one of our sisters is really important, not only to us but feel they have touched a lot of lives we'll never be aware of." 

The confirmed that it was isolating the sisters still living at the convent and testing them twice a week. The nuns who died were all either in their 80s or 90s. 

"Even though they're older and most of the sisters that did go to God are in their late 80s, 90s...we didn't expect them to go so, so quickly," Sciano said. 

"So it was just very difficult for us."