'A dream come true' as visitors return to Spanish nursing home
Josefa Martinez touches her husband Martin Camacho's hand as she leaves after visiting him on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana Vera
The sounds of tears and laughter rang through the Casaverde nursing home in Navalcarnero outside Madrid on Monday, as residents received their first visitors since the facility was locked down in March.
Facing each other from opposite ends of two large tables pushed together to ensure adequate distancing, Pepa Plaza and her mother Josefa Vila enjoyed an emotional reunion.
Alfonso Cuadrado waits for a nursing home worker to disinfect the area where he was visited by his daughter on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain, June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana Vera
"I knew she was OK from the video chats, but now I've seen her," said Plaza from behind a mask. "The only thing missing is I can't go over and give her a kiss."
Her mother smiled as a nurse showed a video of her grandchildren back home in the kitchen.
"It's like a dream come true," said Vila. "Because of course you're far away you can't see them. You worry could they have fallen, could something have happened to them?"
Esmeralda Cuadrado blows her father Alfonso a kiss on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain, June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana Vera
Before being allowed inside, visitors must sign a declaration saying they do not have coronavirus symptoms and have not come into contact with anybody who has. Staff members then take their temperature and disinfect their hands and shoes.
Once inside, visitors must remain two metres away from their elderly relatives.
An exception to the grim norm, the Casaverde home has been only mildly affected by the coronavirus, which has rampaged through elderly communities across the country.
Martin Camacho reacts as he is visited by his wife Josefa Martinez on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana Vera
There are no official estimates of the national death toll from COVID-19 in Spanish nursing homes, but Madrid authorities reported that some 6,000 retirement home residents have died with coronavirus symptoms since the outbreak began, about 11% of the pre-pandemic population.
Fighting back tears, Maricarmen Cortisejo was thrilled to see her mother doing so well after such an ordeal.
"I can't even talk. She's fine, I can see she's looking great."
Maria Luisa Gonzalez's son visits her on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana Vera
(Reporting by Elena Rodriguez, Susana Vera and Michael Gore; Additional reporting by Belén Carreño; Writing by Nathan Allen; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
Carmen Aguilar blows a kiss to his son-in-law, who's waiting outside the nursing home on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana VeraVisitors wave at their family members as they wait to enter on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana VeraFlorentino Martinez gets emotional as he sees his wife Maria Emilia on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana VeraFelicidad Dominguez's daughter Bienvenida takes a picture of both of them on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana VeraAsela Escalante and her mother Josefina Viera keep social distance on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana VeraAngela Navas bids farewell to her sister Manuela Navas on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain, June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana VeraJesus Mayo shows his mother Vicenta Abella her family members on the phone on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana VeraAsela Escalante pulls down her mask so her mother Josefina Viera can recognise her on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana VeraMarcelino Bazaga gets emotional as he sees his wife Ascension Acero on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana VeraVisitors keep social distancing as they get their tempearture checked on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain, June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana VeraPedro Sanchez gets emotional as his wife Guadalupe Jimenez (reflected on the window) talks to him from a distance, on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain, June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana VeraCarmen Gonzalez talks to her daughter from a distance on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain, June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana VeraMarisa Garrido takes pictures of her mother Luisa Gomez as they keep social distancing on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain, June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana VeraSocial worker, Tamara Corona, checks the temperature of a visitor on the first day family visits are resumed after three months amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at the nursing home Centro Casaverde in Navalcarnero, outside Madrid, Spain, June 8, 2020. REUTERS/Susana Vera
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