Spanish NGO helps nursing homes hit by pandemic

Nursing homes in Barcelona, overwhelmed by the new coronavirus pandemic that has hit the elderly especially hard, are receiving help from a Spanish humanitarian organisation to transfer patients with COVID-19 out of the city to avoid further spread of the virus.

Volunteers from the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Open Arms say their mission to save lives hasn't changed - instead of rescuing asylum seekers from rubber boats in the Mediterranean Sea they are now tending to Spain's oldest generation, helping care workers and ambulance drivers transfer them to medical facilities.

Nursing homes are especially vulnerable during the new coronavirus pandemic.

In the north eastern region of Catalonia alone, health authorities there say over 1,600 people have died in nursing homes from COVID-19 since March 15, the vast majority in or near Barcelona.

The city's mayor has been especially critical of the regional government, the authority in charge of nursing homes, accusing it of mishandling the crisis and not assisting the elderly quickly enough.

On Thursday the city announced it was calling upon the Barcelona-based NGO to give nursing homes a hand.

But the transfer of patients in their 80s and 90s is very delicate - many suffer from Alzheimer's and dementia as well as other medical conditions.

Some are frightened at the sight of caregivers in full body suits with face shields, masks and gloves and wonder if they are next in line to die from the virus.

Care workers say they are both relieved and sad to see their residents leave in ambulances.

Although the patients will get much needed medical care and moving them helps avoid futher infections within the facilities, care workers also fear that some patients will never return.

Spain has a total of 163,027 infections of the new virus, with 16,606 deaths, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and could lead to death.

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