Spanish healthcare workers awarded for their 'spirit of sacrifice'

Spanish health workers were awarded the Princess of Asturias of Concord Prize on Wednesday for their " heroic sacrifice spirit " risking their lives during the fight against the new coronavirus.

Read also: Caregivers want more than awards and medals

The jury congratulated the thousands of people who " in public and private health establishments and other services, have been in direct contact with patients with Covid-19, on the front line in the fight against this disease ". Doctors' associations have reported around 50 deaths among healthcare workers in Spain, where the pandemic has claimed more than 27,000 lives in total.

According to the latest report from the Ministry of Health, more than 50,000 health workers have been infected in the country, or 22% of the total number of cases of coronavirus confirmed by tests. " With their spirit of heroic sacrifice, assuming serious risks and personal damage, including risking their own lives, they have already become the symbol " of the fight against the virus, noted the jury.

Read also: Coronavirus: the Assembly votes the "gift of leave" to caregivers, in "holiday vouchers"

Considered the Nobel Prize winners in the Spanish-speaking world, the Princess of Asturias prizes have been awarded since 1981 to individuals or institutions in various fields such as the arts, sciences and sport. At the height of the pandemic, in overcrowded hospitals, professionals complained about the lack of beds or respirators for the sick, as well as the lack of equipment to protect themselves.