As Spain battles coronavirus, medics' unions hit out by Emma Pinedo joanfaus
MADRID - When Spain’s first case of coronavirus was recorded on Jan. 31 - a German tourist in La Gomera, one of the remote Canary Islands - there seemed little cause for concern.
Across the globe, the pandemic has swamped health systems and triggered calls for more and better protective equipment for those fighting it. In a town in Catalonia, as many as one in three medical staff have been out of action because they were infected or self-isolating. “The explosion of cases in Spain is not normal ... it has been very poorly managed since the beginning,” said Tomas Toranzo, president of CESM, whose members are filing the suits. “The coronavirus infection was underestimated, treated like a mild flu, and it seemed that this would only affect a few elderly.”Unions say their members were ignored. Already in February, there were signs the virus was spreading, said Angela Fernandez, a Madrid surgeon and deputy secretary of the doctors’ union AMYTS.
In mid-February, Jesus Garcia Ramos, the representative for health and safety for Madrid’s nurses’ union, Satse Madrid, asked the regional health authority for extra training to prepare for coronavirus patients, he said. One thing they wanted to know: How to take off protective equipment without infecting the wearer.
Some nurses have been forced to improvise, fashioning protective clothing from garbage bags, shower caps, or raincoats from a Madrid amusement park.
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