Spain is one of the countries most affected by the crisis. The country has now achieved an important symbolic success in the fight against the virus.
Madrid (dpa) - Spain, badly affected by the crisis, has achieved an important symbolic success in the fight against the corona pandemic.
The huge field hospital built in Madrid's Ifema exhibition center was closed one and a half months after opening due to the rapidly falling number of Covid 19 patients. According to the authorities, more than 4,000 patients were treated at the Ifema, where the UN climate summit was held last December. Only 17 sick people could not be saved in the Ifema.
Most of the sick had "miraculously left the miracle hospital," including a 103-year-old woman, Madrid region head Isabel Díaz Ayuso said at the closing ceremony. He was confident that even if the pandemic flared up again in the autumn, you would never have to build a hospital in the Ifema again. Madrid's health system is already "reformed and modernized," she said.
The clinic with 1350 beds, including 16 for intensive care patients, was set up in record time of only 48 hours and opened on March 21. During a visit, King Felipe VI. referred to the facility as "a place of hope for the morality of all of Spain".
According to the authorities, more than 215,000 people have been infected with Sars-CoV-2 in Spain by Friday, 24,800 died from or with the virus. With over 60,000 infections in front of Catalonia (just under 50,000), Madrid is the epicenter of the crisis in Spain. However, the numbers have been falling steadily across the country for weeks. The strict curfew is therefore relaxed. From Saturday you can go for a walk again after seven weeks or play sports outdoors. With a four-phase plan, one wants to achieve a "new normal" at the end of June.
Report in Europa Press with statements by regional president Díaz Ayuso
Latest figures from the Ministry of Health