Soldiers have made a grim discovery in Spain, as they visited retirement homes to disinfect them following the outbreak of the coronavirus – finding a number of elderly people abandoned and dead in their beds.
Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles told the private TV channel Telecinco that the government was “going to be strict and inflexible when dealing with the way older people are treated” in retirement homes.
Robles reprimanded this inhumane treatment, saying that those responsible will be brought to justice. “We’re going to be very blunt and implacable over this and we have a very clear message: the full weight of the law will fall on those who don’t meet their obligations,” she added.
Spain has been one of the worst hit countries in Europe, with the death toll on Monday reaching 462, bringing the total to 2,182 deaths, while the number of people who have resulted as CoVid-19 positive has gone up from 28,572 to 33,089. Meanwhile, officials have said that in Madrid an ice rink has been converted into a temporary mortuary for Covid-19 victims. “This is a temporary and extraordinary measure primarily intended to mitigate the pain of victims’ families and the situation in Madrid’s hospitals,” the regional government said on Monday.
Similar to what is happening in other countries, the health workers have been badly hit by this epidemic, with a figure of around 12% of all those diagnosed – some 3,910 people – having contracted the virus, the government said on Monday morning. Health authorities have started distributing around 650,000 rapid testing kits to all citizens.
Despite the sharp rise in numbers, by Sunday night, the US had overtaken Spain to become the third most-affected country, behind China and Italy, with the US death toll standing at 417.
Residents in New York have spoken of a feeling of vulnerability and isolation, as Mayor Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York City, said hospital supplies would be exhausted in a little over 2 weeks if the current rate of infection continues. Meanwhile Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York state, warned that up to 80% of his state’s population of almost 20 million was at risk of contracting the virus.
Other developments:
- Deaths in Italy rose by 601, the first time in days that a decrease was registered in the number of deaths. This comes as Italy banned all movement within the country and closed all non-essential businesses;
- In Germany, the head of the country’s leading public health advisory body reported a levelling off in the number of infections for the first time, due to strict social distancing measures in force across the country;
- India on Monday stopped all internal flights and instituted a near complete lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus;
- Wuhan, the centre of the coronavirus outbreak in China, has begun to loosen its two-month lockdown on citizens;
- South Korea reported its lowest number of new coronavirus cases on Monday, boosting hopes that Asia’s largest outbreak outside China may be abating.
- In France, three doctors lost their lives according to the AFP news agency;
- New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, announced the country would go into a month-long lockdown from Wednesday;
- More than 50 million people in the Philippines remain under lockdown;
- Canada became the first country to warn that it will not send its athletes to the Tokyo Olympics unless they are postponed for a year, as pressure builds to delay the Games;
- The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has requested the EU to instigate a “Marshall plan” to counter the economic effects of the crisis, while announcing the country’s state of emergency would be extended until 11 April. Meanwhile, authorities in Madrid, have set up a huge field hospital inside the capital’s main conference centre, which can accommodate 5,500 people.
