Health Workers Infected with COVID-19 in Spain

14.4 percent of the total number of confirmed cases of SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus in Spain correspond to health workers, the Health Ministry reported today.

Of the 85,195 people infected up to Monday, 12,298 are doctors, nurses and other health personnel, said Maria Jose Sierra, of the Health Alert and Emergency Coordination Center, which is part of the ministry.

The number of infected among the professionals of this sector is high, recognized Sierra, who today replaced Fernando Simon in the daily press conference to report on the evolution of the disease, after the well-known epidemiologist tested positive for Covid-19.

However, the doctor pointed out that the vast majority of the affected personnel, between 85 and 90 percent, have a very good evolution and recover at home with home care.

Given these figures, the specialist thanked the professionals on the front line against the virus, who ‘are giving us an example of dedication and commitment,’ she said.

The rapid spread in Spain of SARS-Cov-2, which causes Covid-19 disease, has put the country’s advanced health system in check, as it faces a lack of health care capacity in the worst-hit areas, such as the region of Madrid, the epicenter of the outbreak, with nearly one-third of the cases nationally (24,090) and half of the deaths, with 3,392 of the 7,340 deaths in this European nation.