When Spanish Soldiers Disinfect Rest Homes, They Find the Elderly Dead in Bed. Spain is one of the most affected countries worldwide by the coronavirus. Soldiers help to stem the outbreak.
But when they disinfect retirement homes, they often find residents who are entirely left to their own devices. Or even lie dead in their bed—no trace of the caretakers.
In Spain, the situation is dramatic, and the toll is high. Meanwhile, the authorities have deployed the military to disinfect public places such as airports and metro stations. But the soldiers are also sent to retirement homes. What they find it is terrible.
The residents often have to rely entirely on themselves for lack of personnel. Nobody seems to care about them. In some cases, residents are found dead. This situation appears to be occurring in nursing homes across the country, but more detailed data are not yet available.
Defense Secretary Margarita Robles confirmed Monday that soldiers had found residents dead in their beds. The Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office has started an investigation into the conditions in those retirement homes.
“The government will be strict and persistent when it appears that the residents of the retirement homes have been left to their own devices,” said Robles. Dozens of nursing home residents have already died of corona in Spain in the past period.
Health Minister Salvador Illa stressed that the government has given “absolute priority” to old people’s homes in the fight against the spread of the virus. The situation in nursing homes needs to be monitored closely.
In Spain, the number of deaths is increasing. Another 512 people have succumbed to the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours. This increases the death toll to 2,694. The total number of infections has now risen to 40,000.