Chile: Alleged negligence death of virus infected nurse

Medical workers in Santiago de Chile on Tuesday paid tribute to Patricia Duran Moyano, a Barros Luco hospital nurse who died after having been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Outside the hospital her colleagues bid farewell to the nurse, who had been treated at the same hospital where she worked.

The hospital's health workers' union denounced her death as a case of negligence, because she had been discharged despite still feeling ill.

"For us, this is an important signal about what we don't want to see repeated, we do not want to regret more workers deaths", said Luisa Galvez, Union Leader of Barros Luco Hospital.

Galvez mentioned that there were many complaints from colleagues who had to return to work without having been tested for COVID-19, or discharged prematurely to free up beds.

Chile's Health Ministry has reported 6,840 health officials infected of Covid-19 and more than 10,000 into preventive quarantine.

Despite some of the strictest measures in the region, Chile has diagnosed 299,000 cases of coronavirus and counted 6,384 deaths.

The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.

(Representative Image)