AROUND 12% of COVID-19 cases in Spain are health workers, figures have revealed.
The doctors, nurses and other health professionals battling on the front lines have seen at least 3,475 colleagues infected with coronavirus.
“It is a major problem,” said director of health emergencies Fernando Simon yesterday, “We understand that they are the most at risk group, it is clear that we must tackle that.”
He described all health professionals as ‘heroes’ who were working around the clock to fight the pandemic while ‘exposing themselves to the risks and giving their all.’
Last Thursday saw the first doctor die in the Basque Country.
In Madrid, some 600 health workers have caught coronavirus while another 1,400 have been forced to self-isolate at home after being in contact with the infected workers.
It means the region has lost 2,000 health professionals as it battles the worst of the outbreak in Spain.