MADRID: Spain’s public prosecutor is investigating more than 200 cases of potential criminal mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic at nursing homes, where the virus spread almost unchecked during the devastating first wave.
Angel Juarez, whose 95-year-old mother Leonor died from the virus at a Barcelona care home, sued the regional health department over alleged mismanagement of such facilities for the elderly and infirm.
“It’s not about political beliefs, everything failed. It is a matter of justice: they died an undignified death,” he told Reuters by phone. “We want to shine a light on the negligence and clarify who was responsible.”
Nearly 43,000 care home residents died of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infections during the March-May first wave of contagion, according to official data.
At the time, staff reported shortages of basic protective equipment, and army units deployed on disinfection missions discovered unattended bodies at several facilities.
In a…