A second user of the Las Cabreras nursing home has tested positive for coronavirus, as reported this Wednesday by the Cabildo. These tests are being carried out after confirming the case of a doctor from the center, and as a result, three infections have been confirmed so far: those of the two users and that of a nurse. To these we must add the initial case, that of the healthcare worker, so in total there are four cases.
However, the Island Corporation emphasizes as an "encouraging" fact that another ten people have tested negative in the tests. In total, since the first case was known, thirteen tests have been carried out, mostly on residents but also on staff of the healthcare team.
"These are encouraging results. Due to the conditions of the residents in the center and the experiences known in other territories, from the beginning we assessed that the evolution could be very negative. Today we maintain prudence and we are going to redouble the efforts made, but we can feel the relief of thinking that we are doing it well, putting all the means at our disposal, to ensure the best possible outcome," said the president of the Cabildo, María Dolores Corujo.
Measures to contain the spread
The president recalled that the temporary transfer of residents to the Gloria Izaro hotel and the subsequent disinfection by the UME "has played an important role in containing, so far, the spread of coronavirus in the residence".
In addition, residents now have, after an emergency reconditioning, individual rooms and screens that sectorize the facilities depending on the patient's situation with respect to the coronavirus. Thus, from the Cabildo they emphasize that "people who have tested positive in the tests are perfectly isolated". Similarly, "in another sector are those who present some type of symptom, even when the tests have been negative".
"An extraordinary effort"
Corujo has especially valued "the reinforcement" provided by the Canary Islands Health Service. "The Island Directorate and the Hospital Management have made an extraordinary effort, given their enormous workload, and have added to the usual staff of the residence, in charge of AFA, the permanent presence (24 hours) of two nurses per shift and a nursing assistant in the day shift," she stressed.
Likewise, the president wanted to have words of gratitude for the management and staff of the Association of Relatives of Alzheimer's Patients of Lanzarote (AFA), the preventive health team and the Social Services team, because "it has been their work and their dedication that has allowed to control, so far, what could have been a larger outbreak".
"We cannot lower our guard, we have to keep pushing hard, but we can send a reassuring message to the families and staff of the residence: We are doing everything in our power and the results are positive so far," Corujo concluded.
