Covid-19 responsible for at least 4,260 deaths in Spain’s Madrid elderly care homes during March alone

TODAY, Ignacio Aguado, the Vice President of the Madrid region, has confirmed that 4,260 of the 4,750 deaths across 710 elderly care homes in Madrid during March 2020, died of coronavirus (Covid-19), or related symptoms.

However, only 781 deaths were originally included in the initial count of Covid-19 fatalities, because those victims were tested for it, which was a prerequisite that had to be met to be added to the official coronavirus death toll.

Another 3,479 residents died with symptoms of the disease, but were never tested for it, and therefore were not included in the official count. But when that figure is added to the 781 confirmed cases, you get a total of 4,260 coronavirus-related deaths for the month of March alone.

“These statistics are much higher than for an average month because when the disease enters a care home it causes mayhem and destruction,” stated Aguado. He also sent out a message of “solidarity and condolences” to all the families that lost a love one in a home in recent weeks, during a virtual news conference today.

The regional government of Madrid will now start releasing figures on elderly care home/residency deaths, twice a week, Aguado confirmed.