Healthcare Professional vaccinating Ibiza Nursing Home resident. | Ultima Hora

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Nursing homes for the elderly in the Balearic Islands are now free of Covid-19. There have been no positive cases amongst residents since February 11, but some employees have been diagnosed with coronavirus and Wednesday was the first day with no new cases of the disease.

Nursing Homes were hit hard by the pandemic and since the beginning of the health crisis, 259 residents have died from coronavirus, but the vaccine has had a very positive effect.

Vaccination

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According to the Ministry of Health approximately 98% of residents and 80% of Healthcare Professionals working in geriatric homes have already been immunised and those who have not can have their jab at any time and won’t have to join a waiting list.

"It's not that they don't want to, it's just that according to protocol they can’t right now,” said a spokesperson who pointed out that some have not been immunised because of medical prescriptions.

Residents and Healthcare Professionals were vaccinated first, to protect them and prevent the virus from spreading.

Coronavirus has been especially cruel to the elderly, particularly those living in Nursing Homes and the virus still managed to enter, even although they were shielded during much of the health crisis,” says Preventive Medicine & Public Health Specialist, Joan Carles March. “When the Covid-19 vaccine arrived in December we started to dream of an end to the health crisis and that dream is now coming true in these centres.The current situation is very good and Nursing Homes are Covid-free, but we have to be able to maintain it, by making the necessary changes so that we don’t fall back into a pre-pandemic situation."