World's 'oldest man' celebrates his 116th birthday more than 100 years after Spanish flu epidemic killed his sister

The unofficial 'world's oldest man' has celebrated his 116th birthday in the midst of a global pandemic - more than a hundred years after the Spanish Flu killed his sister.

Centenarian Fredie Blom was born on May 8, 1904, in Adelaide near the Great Winterberg mountain range of South Africa's Eastern Cape province.

In 1918, when he was 14 years old, his sister died from the deadly Spanish Flu and Mr Blom recalled having to sleep outside on a haystack to avoid getting the disease. It killed 300,000 people in the country.

Mr Blom said the worst thing about Covid-19 was the nationwide ban on cigarette sales. His neighbour, Gairoenesa Michael, revealed Mr Blom struggled to understand the coronavirus pandemic.

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