Madrid orders closure of private and public senior centres to avoid further Coronavirus contagion
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The Madrid regional government on Friday ordered 213 private and public senior centers to be closed in a bid to avoid further contagion of the novel coronavirus. The measure was taken after the deaths of two elderly people in centers in the region, one in a home and another in a center for seniors. The government has justified the move on the basis that this section of the population is particularly vulnerable to the Covid-19 disease.
El Pais reports that on Friday, Madrid regional authorities reported a death and 15 new coronavirus cases at a senior daycare center in Valdemoro, in the south of the Madrid region. Four of the patients have been admitted into intensive care. This was the second senior care center in the region to register a death after a 99-year-old woman died on Tuesday at La Paz residence in Madrid. Ten other residents and a nurse at the center have tested positive for the virus.
The closure will take effect from Saturday onward and will last for a month. It will be extended depending on the progress of the epidemic. The order will not affect day centers, which differ from senior centers in that they assist dependant persons. Nor will the move affect the more than 400 care homes in the region. These centers have upped precautions against Covid-19 by taking measures such as installing disinfectant hand gel by entrances and bathrooms.
