ARCHIVED - Madrid imposes ban on visitors at 8 homes for the elderly
Outbreaks of Covid reappear at residences throughout Spain
As the fifth wave of the Covid pandemic continues to spread to older generations the regional government of Madrid has suspended visiting permits at eight residences in and around the Spanish capital, following the news that over 200 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in outbreaks at these centres.
Similar scenarios have been reported in various parts of Spain including Andalucía and Cantabria, with the virus affecting 166 residents and 56 staff, and in other such residences in Madrid a recommendation has been given to limit visitors to those who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
It is also recommended that both visitors and staff should wear facemasks at all times and maintain social distancing whenever possible, and that they should provide negative antigen or PCR test results before visiting. In addition, it is stipulated that residents should be allowed just three 1-hour visits per week
The centres affected in the region of Madrid are those of Getafe Alzheimer, La Ermita (in Parla), Isla Taray (in Morata de Tajuña) and Sagrada Familia, Concesol, Nuestra Señora del Pilar, Margarita Retuerto and Jazmín, all of them in the municipality of Madrid itself.
It should be remembered that during the first wave of Covid contagion in Spain thousands of elderly people in residences died and many more were admitted to hospital as a result of positive tests, and that despite widespread vaccination the new variants of the virus now pose a threat to this largely vaccinated sector of the population.
Image: disinfection at a home for the elderly in spring 2020 (archive)