42 residents in Pyrenean care home pass away due to Covid-19

In the town of Tremp, in the Catalan western Pyrenees, 42 residents of a care home have passed away recently due to a Covid-outbreak. With 134 people currently affected, Lleida’s public prosecutor’s office has begun an investigation into whether correct coronavirus procedures were followed. 

Two more residents passed away on Wednesday, and the nursing home is now reported to be operating more like a hospital with three shifts of doctors and nurses.

The prosecutor will request documentation from the health department this week to accredit the center’s actions. 

However, no family members have reported the residence to the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police) nor have they brought it to judicial attention. 

Background of the outbreak

This outbreak has been ongoing since November 22, and from November 28 the home’s management was passed over to the Health Services Management (GSS). The week prior to this, cases rose by nearly 100. 

Some parties, such as En Comú Podem, asked for an explanation, on Wednesday, regarding the movement of residents from Tremp to other geriatric centers in the region. 

They worry that this will further spread the virus since three of those residents that were transferred were later tested positive. 

This is not the first time the handling of the pandemic in Catalan care homes has come into question, as 19 such places were investigated by prosecutors during the first wave. 

In this first period of the coronavirus outbreak, the Catalan government repeatedly came under attack over this due to the large number of deaths in these residences.

However, the cabinet affirms that in the second wave, mortality in these homes has been reduced by 52%.

Throughout the pandemic, 4,337 of the deaths which occurred have come from care homes. This accounts for nearly a quarter of the current toll of deaths which now stands at 16,218 in Catalonia.