The premises of Ifema in Madrid have gone from being a venue used for events such as Fruit Attraction, the most important trade fair for the Spanish fruit and vegetable sector, to the largest makeshift hospital in Spain dedicated to serving patients with pathologies derived from COVID-19.
Photo, El País
In Spain, the coronavirus has hit the Community of Madrid the hardest, as they have more than 10,500 confirmed cases of infection and more than 1,260 deaths.
Photo, El País
Spain's health system has had to prioritize care to patients with a greater life expectancy because of the saturation, lack of space, health personnel, new material and logistical means of Madrid's hospitals. To combat this, authorities have opened a hospital in Ifema, where they plan to enable more than 3,000 beds. Today the first patients (more than 150) started to arrive.
Photo, El País
To make up for the lack of personnel, the public administration recently announced that they would hire some 50,000 people who have not completed their studies or who have already retired.
Photo, El País
The Madrid administration said on its Twitter account: "We need more resources than the teams of professionals from the Madrid Health Service (SERMAS) that will work at Ifema. If you are a doctor, nurse, or a technician in auxiliary nursing care (TCAE) you can send your curriculum vitae to ifema.covid@salud.madrid.org."
Photo, El País