The general public were out giving them a round of applause every night for months but under the “new normal” it appears that the local and state authorities have forgotten about how tens of thousands of medical staff saved thousands of lives during the pandemic and are continuing to combat the virus with spikes erupting around the country.
Yes, an airline has offered front line staff two free flights and a major hotel chain has given them points to go towards free rooms, but the government is stalling on cash bonuses, it’s a disgrace. A poll this week revealed that 71% of Spain’s health workers lacked means to fight coronavirus.
Not only were they exposed to Covid-19 due to the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), they were also not given basic protocols on how to manage coronavirus patients and to avoid contagion according to the results of a survey of 2,500 health professionals.
According to the third and final round of a coronavirus prevalence study, 10% of healthcare workers tested positive for coronavirus antibodies – nearly double the national average of 5.1%. Of those surveyed, 85% said that they had been in direct contact with Covid-19 patients – 56.5% on an ongoing basis. A total of 15% of doctors and 14% of other health workers (not including nurses) said they had contracted the coronavirus. This figure rose to 23% among nurses and what have they got to show for it?