Hundreds of doctors and nurses demonstrated on Monday in Madrid, Spain, to protest against the shortage of manpower in the health sector and the lack of resources and supplies, according to France Press report published on Tuesday.
They observed two minutes of silence at the entrances of several hospitals, calling for strengthening human resources and providing them with protection equipment in the face of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
They considered that the coronavirus, causing the COVID-19, "only aggravated a situation that we had previously suffered from," in the words of one of the demonstrators.
The coronavirus revealed several deficiencies in the health sectors in a number of European countries, including Spain, in which hundreds of sector employees demonstrated in their uniforms Monday in front of several Madrid hospitals, calling for strengthening human resources and providing them with protection equipment in the face of the pandemic.
“The nurses and doctors observed two minutes of silence at the entrances of several hospitals in the capital, carrying banners that read: We are neither heroes nor suicide bombers. We need real protection equipment,” the report added.
The goal is to make people aware of "our situation right now, and the instability of our jobs. COVID-19 only worsened a situation we were suffering from in," said Silvia Garcia, a nurse working at the Resuscitation Department at Gregorio Maranion Hospital where she was demonstrating with others.”
Victor Aparicio, an intensive care nurse at the same hospital, said, "We must be given treatment facilities... We must receive guarantees that we can relax and protect ourselves so that we can do our work in the best conditions."
Health workers, who say they are tired, mainly complain of a shortage of manpower and protection equipment to deal with the COVID-19 epidemic, which has spread especially in the capital, where a third of injuries and deaths have been recorded and where the health care system is on the verge of collapse.
They are demanding that 100,000 people whom Madrid had hired temporarily to deal with the epidemic be kept.
Turkey sized Medical Shipment Heading to Spain
Last April, the Spanish Foreign Ministry announced that the Turkish authorities seized a plane loaded with breathing devices that was en route from China to Spain, according to Al-Arabiya Net News Website.
In addition, Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez revealed that the Turkish government is holding in Ankara a shipment of medical supplies purchased from China coming to Spain.
Gonzalez added that the Turkish government imposed restrictions on exports of medical devices on its territory, mainly because of their concern over their ability to maintain their health system.
This shipment is valuable because it contains 162 respirators for ICU patients, according to Spanish media.
While in Turkey, the Minister of Health, Fahrettin Koca, announced that a member of the Scientific Council to fight the novel corona virus was infected with the virus, Anadolu News Agency reported on Twitter.
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