Madrid records new jump in coronavirus cases, faces hospital bed crunch

By Belén Carreño and Jose Elías Rodríguez

 

A woman, wearing a protective face mask, walks outside a closed school on the first day of a two-week clousure of all kindergartens, schools and universities in the Madrid region as a precaution against coronavirus in Madrid, Spain, March 11, 2020. REUTERS/Sergio Perez

 

MADRID (Reuters) - The number of confirmed coronavirus infections jumped in the Madrid region overnight, testing the limits of the healthcare system, officials said on Wednesday, after a senior doctor warned intensive care units could be running out of beds.

 

Health authorities said known cases in the capital region had risen to 1,024 from 782 on Tuesday - about half of the nationwide total in Spain, one of the highest levels in Europe behind Italy. Spanish authorities have reported 47 deaths, 31 of them in Madrid.

 

"The mortality rate in Madrid is higher because there are several outbreaks associated with retirement homes," Fernando Simon, Spain's health emergency chief, told a news conference.

 

"The healthcare services, although they are responding, are doing so under very significant stress, something that we have to limit for the rest of the territory," Simon said, and this was the main objective of a batch of newly announced measures.

 

It comes as Madrid's regional president Isabel Diaz Ayuso said on Wednesday evening that according to health specialists there would be a "sharp increase" in infections in Madrid this weekend and the worst of spreading of the virus would take place over the next three weeks.

 

Spain, which at first took few steps against the outbreak, changed tack on Monday after infections soared, declaring a ban on flights from Italy, closing some schools and cautioning against domestic and foreign travel.

 

On Wednesday evening the Ministry of Culture announced the closure of all state-run museums in Madrid, including the Prado and Reina Sofia, "until further notice".

 

Jose Ramon Arribas, a doctor appointed by the Madrid region as a spokesman on the coronavirus crisis, tweeted on Tuesday that local hospitals grappling with coronavirus cases were running out of protective gear and could soon run out of intensive care beds. "Response to COVID-19 (coronavirus) must be a national priority. Please RT (re-tweet)," Arribas tweeted.

 

Simon said some areas were nearing limits on medical equipment needed to deal with the crisis, but added that they would receive fresh supplies as soon as Wednesday.

 

Public health authorities were also looking into strengthening coordination with private health care providers.

 

Madrid hospitals have received 81% of the patients admitted to intensive care because of coronavirus across the country, Simon said. The infections in Madrid were more serious than in other regions where those infected tend to be younger and to have caught it from people who traveled abroad.

 

Madrid authorities said on Wednesday an additional 516 workers had been hired to help deal with the epidemic, including people answering an information hotline.

 

Schools throughout the Madrid region were closed and events of more than 1,000 people banned there and in the affluent northern region of Catalonia.

 

Madrid's museums also adapted to the crisis with the famed Prado saying it had reduced the number of visitors allowed into its most popular rooms and a spokeswoman at the Reine Sofia said the museum had banned group visits.

 

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday Spain would do "whatever is necessary" to curb the coronavirus outbreak.

 

(Additional reporting by Inti Landauro and Jessica Jones; Writing by Belén Carreño and Ingrid Melander; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Diane Craft)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-03-12

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So, only Madrid (town) has +1000 infected and Thailand (country) 59?

 

Someone is lying

 

 

1 hour ago, Tarteso said:

So, only Madrid (town) has +1000 infected and Thailand (country) 59?

 

Someone is lying

 

 

Must be those darn Spaniards inflating numbers, surely!

Darn spaniards? ????
 

Being Spanish...looks like you are not too smart to blame people in TV.,
shame on you!.

Edited March 12, 20206 yr by Tarteso

1 hour ago, Tarteso said:

So, only Madrid (town) has +1000 infected and Thailand (country) 59?

 

Someone is lying

 

 

Not necessarily. The fact that Thailand has 35 degrees C and bright sunshine has something to do with it. Sun, heat and even humidity will destroy the virus on surfaces and reduces the level of transmission.

 

Madrid currently has a high of 20 C and a daily low of 7C. Go figure!

Just now, Proboscis said:

Not necessarily. The fact that Thailand has 35 degrees C and bright sunshine has something to do with it. Sun, heat and even humidity will destroy the virus on surfaces and reduces the level of transmission.

 

Madrid currently has a high of 20 C and a daily low of 7C. Go figure!

That’s right.

1 hour ago, Tarteso said:

So, only Madrid (town) has +1000 infected and Thailand (country) 59?

 

Someone is lying

 

 

I keep hearing about the fake numbers in Thailand. Although I acknowledge it is possible, when you consider the staggering incompetence of the Thai army and administration, how would they be able to accomplish what far more oppressive governments like Iran and China were not able to accomplish? People are NOT scared of the army anymore. They are weak, and feeble. And they are despised. If a Thai person had a family member with Corona, in the hospital, who was seriously ill, would they not run onto social media and talk about it? Thailand is one of the most active countries on earth, when it comes to social media. I think we would have thousands of people blabbering on facebook, instagram, line, youtube, and others, about this. So, again, how would the hapless army be able to cover this up to the extent many suggest?

8 minutes ago, Proboscis said:

Not necessarily. The fact that Thailand has 35 degrees C and bright sunshine has something to do with it. Sun, heat and even humidity will destroy the virus on surfaces and reduces the level of transmission.

 

Madrid currently has a high of 20 C and a daily low of 7C. Go figure!

NOT proven with this virus, it is airborne.

6 minutes ago, Proboscis said:

Not necessarily. The fact that Thailand has 35 degrees C and bright sunshine has something to do with it. Sun, heat and even humidity will destroy the virus on surfaces and reduces the level of transmission.

 

Madrid currently has a high of 20 C and a daily low of 7C. Go figure!

RUBBISH and offensive.  The SARS virus of 2003 was infecting North Americans right into mid summer.  It was still a threat in SE Asia hot months. In 2015 & 2016, The  MERS -CoV was running rampant in the middle east during its peak hot season. If your position was valid, then this should not have occurred.

 

We are not seeing the SARS CoV-2 being spread in open  areas. On the contrary, the high risk areas are high density  locations such as  care facilities, conference/meeting rooms and locations where people are in close communication at buffets or  shared facilities  like on a cruise ship.  This is a virus that is best spread in  humid  cooler venues, like Thailand's shopping malls, BTS or even its airports.Thailand  has a fondness for communal living with shared family sleeping areas. these are ideal for the spread of respiratory disease.

 

 

 

18 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

RUBBISH and offensive.  The SARS virus of 2003 was infecting North Americans right into mid summer.  

 

How the hell did you manage to find his/her post ‘offensive’ ?!?! 
 

 

42 minutes ago, Tarteso said:

Darn spaniards? ????
 

Being Spanish...looks like you are not too smart to blame people in TV.,
shame on you!.

That wasn't a punch against Spanish, but against very unconvincing numbers from Thailand. It was sarcasm, please calm down.

3 minutes ago, Bruntoid said:

How the hell did you manage to find his/her post ‘offensive’ ?!?! 
 

 

Because it is not fact, just speculation, and speculation is spread as incorrect information.

53 minutes ago, Proboscis said:

Not necessarily. The fact that Thailand has 35 degrees C and bright sunshine has something to do with it. Sun, heat and even humidity will destroy the virus on surfaces and reduces the level of transmission.

looooooooooooool

 

you know any shopping malls ?  airplanes ? busses ? mrt ? bts  with LOTS OF SUNSHINE & 35 °C inside ?

 

air conditioning might help spread the virus 

56 minutes ago, Proboscis said:

Not necessarily. The fact that Thailand has 35 degrees C and bright sunshine has something to do with it. Sun, heat and even humidity will destroy the virus on surfaces and reduces the level of transmission.

 

Madrid currently has a high of 20 C and a daily low of 7C. Go figure!

Yeah, the conspiracy theories get really tiring. Temperature is definitely a factor, and also, the "bad" countries like Spain, Italy, and Iran, are places where people are kissing/brushing their lips on each other's faces all day long. Compare that to a place like Japan or Thailand were people basically don't touch in any way at all, not even each other's hands... No mystery at all why some countries would have a higher spread rate. 

What most don't know is that if the serious infection rate increases significantly, there are not enough Drs, nurses and hospital beds in the west to handle it.

If the number requiring a ventilator or even just ICU care rises above a certain level, Drs will be having to choose whom to save. Just regarding nurses alone, to be an ICU nurse takes a lot of extra training over and above normal registered nurse training, and that is a minimum 3 year course for a registered nurse. An ICU nurse normally takes care of ONE patient- two would be pushing it. Extra nurses and ICU beds can't be magicked up.

In China they were able to build more hospitals just for Corona, though I have no idea where the nurses come from. That's just not possible in western countries. Another thing to remember is that western people on the whole don't want to be nurses any more ( the financial rewards are too poor to make it worthwhile ). They import nurses from the Philippines and places like India, and the supply is not unlimited. People think Drs are the ones that save them, but it's actually the nurses. Those tv series about hospitals always glorify Drs but they are fiction.

Also remember that if all the ICU beds are taken by Corona patients any elective surgery patients that require ICU care post surgery won't be able to have surgery. What happens when a serious road accident or heart attack needs a bed and they are all full?

Lots of things that no one is talking about.

11 minutes ago, AlienHermit66 said:

Yeah, the conspiracy theories get really tiring. Temperature is definitely a factor, and also, the "bad" countries like Spain, Italy, and Iran, are places where people are kissing/brushing their lips on each other's faces all day long. Compare that to a place like Japan or Thailand were people basically don't touch in any way at all, not even each other's hands... No mystery at all why some countries would have a higher spread rate. 

In every country people do something that is considered risky from health/pandemic point of view.

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

What most don't know is that if the serious infection rate increases significantly, there are not enough Drs, nurses and hospital beds in the west to handle it.

If the number requiring a ventilator or even just ICU care rises above a certain level, Drs will be having to choose whom to save. Just regarding nurses alone, to be an ICU nurse takes a lot of extra training over and above normal registered nurse training, and that is a minimum 3 year course for a registered nurse. An ICU nurse normally takes care of ONE patient- two would be pushing it. Extra nurses and ICU beds can't be magicked up.

In China they were able to build more hospitals just for Corona, though I have no idea where the nurses come from. That's just not possible in western countries. Another thing to remember is that western people on the whole don't want to be nurses any more ( the financial rewards are too poor to make it worthwhile ). They import nurses from the Philippines and places like India, and the supply is not unlimited. People think Drs are the ones that save them, but it's actually the nurses. Those tv series about hospitals always glorify Drs but they are fiction.

Also remember that if all the ICU beds are taken by Corona patients any elective surgery patients that require ICU care post surgery won't be able to have surgery. What happens when a serious road accident or heart attack needs a bed and they are all full?

Lots of things that no one is talking about.

Actually what you describe is already happening in Italy (and probably other places, but Italian doctors were open about it). They have to choose who to put on ventilators. And Italy had some of the better medical systems in Europe, which collapsed within a week. Now imagine what happens when much worse prepared countries get hit. As for the last bit - yes, all elective and non-essential surgeries are already called off in several countries in Europe, and people with milder symptoms are told to stay away from hospitals and clinics. Blood supplies are running low as people are afraid to visit hospitals to donate. Above isn't just a scary thought. It's reality for many.

4 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

Blood supplies are running low as people are afraid to visit hospitals to donate.

That shouldn't happen. Blood can be taken by mobile clinics. There is absolutely no need to do collection in a hospital.

1 hour ago, geriatrickid said:

RUBBISH and offensive.  The SARS virus of 2003 was infecting North Americans right into mid summer.  It was still a threat in SE Asia hot months. In 2015 & 2016, The  MERS -CoV was running rampant in the middle east during its peak hot season. If your position was valid, then this should not have occurred.

 

We are not seeing the SARS CoV-2 being spread in open  areas. On the contrary, the high risk areas are high density  locations such as  care facilities, conference/meeting rooms and locations where people are in close communication at buffets or  shared facilities  like on a cruise ship.  This is a virus that is best spread in  humid  cooler venues, like Thailand's shopping malls, BTS or even its airports.Thailand  has a fondness for communal living with shared family sleeping areas. these are ideal for the spread of respiratory disease.

 

 

 

Corona viruses typically prefer cooler and drier conditions. This was the case with SARS as well as MERS. There is no reason to believe it will be different with this latest Corona variant. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/av/2011/734690/

 

 

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

That shouldn't happen. Blood can be taken by mobile clinics. There is absolutely no need to do collection in a hospital.

People are afraid to leave their homes now. Even in Thailand... you walk into 7 eleven, of which there are like 10 in 100m radius around your home and they welcome you with "Welcome to 7 delivery"... yes, seems the sales at 7-11 dropped so badly they now deliver your stuff to your home around the corner if you order from their app. As panic sets in, people just don't want to be anywhere near anyone who has a chance of having been close to someone infected - and health professionals, in hospitals or containers outside or even home visit - probably top that list, so people don't want to take a chance.

31 minutes ago, AlienHermit66 said:

Yeah, the conspiracy theories get really tiring. Temperature is definitely a factor, and also, the "bad" countries like Spain, Italy, and Iran, are places where people are kissing/brushing their lips on each other's faces all day long. Compare that to a place like Japan or Thailand were people basically don't touch in any way at all, not even each other's hands... No mystery at all why some countries would have a higher spread rate. 

I was thinking the same until I thought about all the dodgy massage and hooker places. Then the normal cultural distance doesn't apply and there are so many of these places in Thailand so you'd think they would cause clusters etc, especially if they were frequented by foreign tourists etc. Yes, so far not any news of this, so something does not add up.

 

Here is the list of the best healthcare system in the world 2020, by the world population review (100 countries).

36 minutes ago, Tarteso said:

Here is the list of the best healthcare system in the world 2020, by the world population review (100 countries).

You look at the rank of Italy, and then see what's happening there - and this becomes really scary for.. basically everyone else, lower in the list.

1 hour ago, Tarteso said:

Here is the list of the best healthcare system in the world 2020, by the world population review (100 countries).

Thanks for that. I definitely will never visit Indonesia.

 

I'm happy to see that where I live in NZ no one seems to be panicking- no supermarket invasions and no masks in evidence- life goes on as normal.

23 hours ago, leeneeds said:

NOT proven with this virus, it is airborne.

look at the Joe rogan experience 1439 talking to Michael Osterholm on you tube