Photos: Coronavirus tears at safety nets for Spain’s elderly

Drawn to Spain’s industrial heartland a generation ago, the elderly of Barcelona's working class neighbourhoods have relied on retirement welfare programes. Many received medical care from the local clinic, where doctors and nurses made house calls. Social workers brought them groceries. But the coronavirus pandemic has heightened their fragility, stripping away the safety nets that kept them fed and healthy and exposing them to a daily threat of infection that they know could kill them.

Updated on: Apr 11, 2020 1:03 PM IST

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Josefa Ribas, 86, who is bedridden, looks at nurse Alba Rodriguez as Ribas’ husband, Jose Marcos, 89, stands by in their home in Barcelona, Spain. Ribas suffers from dementia, and Marcos fears for them both if the coronavirus enters their home. “If I get the virus, who will take care of my wife?” (Emilio Morenatti / AP)

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Nurse Isabel Solis, 46, wearing a converted garbage bag apron for protection, walks along a corridor lined with paintings made by Enrique Pastor, 86, during a home visit. Pastor's full-time caregiver tested positive for the virus, leaving his wife to care for the bedridden retired port worker without knowing if either of them has COVID-19. (Emilio Morenatti / AP)

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A home care doctor performs a physical exam on Felicidad while her son, Joan, holds her arm at her home. Felicidad had been admitted to the hospital after suffering a stroke but was sent home within a day and soon developed respiratory symptoms. As in similarly hard-hit Italy, Spain’s elderly aren’t usually being tested for COVID-19. (Emilio Morenatti / AP)

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Gonzalo Garcia, 61, says goodbye to his 91-year-old mother, Gloria, as he leaves for the hospital after suffering severe respiratory problems. Garcia had been hospitalized with COVID-19 but was discharged when he improved, only to deteriorate a few days later. Coveted beds and ventilators in ICUs are prioritized for younger, healthier patients with a better chance of survival. (Emilio Morenatti / AP)

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Home care nurse Alba Rodriguez puts on protective gear before visiting a patient in the Poble Sec neighborhood of Barcelona. A pediatric nurse, Rodriguez has gotten creative to try to protect herself, fashioning hazmat suits out of giant yellow garbage bags. "We're like onions," she said of the extra layers. (Emilio Morenatti / AP)

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Religious icons decorate a bedroom at Joan Olmedillo’s home. Barcelona’s elderly are suffering at home, alone and more isolated than ever. Few know for sure if they have the virus, but the threat that they might catch it — even from the visiting medical teams they need — has only heightened their anxiety. (Emilio Morenatti / AP)

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Paramedics tend to a patient who doesn’t have COVID-19 inside an ambulance. Medical crews have been doing extra duty during the coronavirus pandemic, checking on patients who are positive and not. (Emilio Morenatti / AP)

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Pepita Jove Puiggros, 92, holds the hand of home care nurse Laura Valdes during a visit. Puiggros lives alone and receives food deliveries from a social service agency three days a week, but the deliveries have become more unpredictable amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Emilio Morenatti / AP)

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Leopoldo Roman, 85, lies in bed wearing a face mask as he waits for doctors during a home medical visit. Roman, whose leg was amputated years ago, has to pay for daily care out of his pension since the public system only provides for a social worker to come for an hour a day, three days a week. (Emilio Morenatti / AP)

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Home care doctors, nurses and health staff take part in the morning meeting at a clinic in Barcelona. Many elderly residents of Poble Sec rely on the clinic for their health care, even more now during the coronavirus pandemic. Sometimes, the elderly refuse medical care until it’s too late, because they fear visiting medics might bring the virus into their homes. (Emilio Morenatti / AP)

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Josefa Ribas is attended to by nurse Laura Valdes. Before the virus struck, Ribas’ nurses would be accompanied by social workers during their weekly visits to treat her bedsores. But those workers have stopped coming, either because they got sick, or are observing stay-at-home orders or themselves caring for loved ones. (Emilio Morenatti / AP)

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Vicente Lopez, 65, sits at his house waiting to be examined by a doctor. Lopez is under quarantine because his partner tested positive for COVID-19 and is in the hospital. Lopez relies on a neighbour to deliver groceries and basic supplies. (Emilio Morenatti / AP)