'We are vulnerable, but we know how to organize ourselves': Doctors reflect on Covid lessons five years on

Five years after the first confirmed case of Covid-19 in Catalonia, doctors at Hospital Clinic, one of the biggest hospitals in Barcelona, are full of praise for the frontline healthcare professionals during those first months. 

“It was a great lesson in management, we have seen that we are vulnerable as a society, but that we also have the capacity to organize ourselves,” said the healthcare director, Antoni Castells, in an event to mark half a decade since the first case.

Castells believes that the healthcare system has been “strengthened” since the start of the pandemic but that many outstanding issues remain, such as the lack of beds in social and health centers.

On February 25, 2020, Catalonia reported its first case of Covid-19, a woman, resident in Barcelona, who had traveled to Italy and who went to the Hospital Clinic with mild symptoms.

Hospital Clinic quickly became a point of reference for treating patients with Covid, and now five years on, the medical center brought together healthcare professionals for an event on Tuesday to "give thanks" for their work done.

In addition, the hospital wanted to recognize the involvement of all healthcare professionals, and also to "remember" those people who died due to Covid-19, as well as the patients who are still suffering from long Covid.