A young volunteer works in the manufacture of protective equipment and medical material, in Barcelona. Photo: EFE/ Alejandro García/Archive
It is the third week of quarantine and the third week in which Spaniards continue to demonstrate their enormous capacity for sacrifice, solidarity and creativity to overcome the crisis
The evening applause dedicated to the health workers and to all the people who are working these days to help the country move forward is just one example of the country’s solidarity. In addition to the initiatives that began in the first few days of lockdown, new gestures of solidarity continue to arise, reflecting that despite the necessary distance, we are closer to one another than ever before.
Combating loneliness with technology
Loneliness is becoming one of the worst consequences of coronavirus patients, especially for those who have been admitted to Intensive Care Units, and who only receive a daily visit from their doctor. In order to mitigate this, Dr. Cristina Marín Campos, of the La Princesa Hospital in Madrid, proposed sending emails and letters with words of encouragement to these patients, which the doctors would read to them during their visit. The WhatsApp audio in which she proposed her initiative quickly went viral, and in a few hours the doctor received more than 30,000 emails, according to the Medical Association of Madrid. Different hospitals have joined the initiative, which Cristina Marin decided to call ‘Letters with Soul’, enabling their own email addresses to receive the messages.
Cristina Marín, cirujana en el Hospital de La Princesa ha lanzado una iniciativa para animar y acompañar a los pacientes afectados por #coronavirus a través de cartas de todos los ciudadanos. Entre todos venceremos al virus❣️#QuedateEnCasa #Coronavirusmadrid #CoronavirusEspaña pic.twitter.com/VrAxQfXGvk
— SaludMadrid (@SaludMadrid) March 18, 2020
Another initiative called ‘Acortando la distancia’ (‘Bridging the Distance‘), launched by a nurse from the National Healthcare System under the user name ‘MyFavoriteNurse’, aims to provide tablets and mobile devices with an Internet connection so that patients can see and talk to their families during their isolation. The proposal has already been joined by telephone operators such as Másmovil which has provided a thousand terminals with connection as well as law firms, renewable energy platforms, marketing experts, illustrators and influencers. Any professional or health centre can request their device by filling in the form on the website acortandoladistancia.com.
A very similar initiative to this one is mirarteotravez.com, through which old tablets are requested so they can be up-dated and taken to hospitals in Madrid, Barcelona and Lleida, so that elderly people can communicate with their families from hospital.
Citizens are helping out with medical equipment
The outbreak of an unprecedented health crisis is also requiring an unprecedented mobilisation by both the healthcare system and the government, as well as the business world, some companies are adapting their production lines (drinks, toys, packaging, etc.) to meet the current medical needs and provide protective equipment for healthcare professionals.
The citizens themselves have also responded to an urgent call for more medical equipment. A network called the Cornonavirus Makers which began in Asturias, now has over 15,000 people throughout Spain producing medical equipment using 3D printing techniques. A virtual community which has come together to help combat the Covid-19. An initiative that has perfectly organized different work groups through Telegram, to produce acetate visors, masks and prototypes of assisted respirators with their printers. With the validated prototype drawings, these makers can manufacture a complete visor in just over three hours. In total, they have managed to produce some 350,000 visors using more than nine tons of material.
Tras entregar unas #viseras, estas chicas del Hospital de Getafe comparten con todos este saludo.
¿Y qué les decimos?…¡¡¡Gracias a vosotras!!! 😍😍#FrenarLaCurva #coronavirusmakers pic.twitter.com/HHiPRu0a6r— CoronavirusMakers.org (@CoronavirusMak3) March 28, 2020
In addition to this initiative there is also the work of the thousands of people, mostly women, who, through hundreds of initiatives such as those that have emerged in Seville, Cordoba, Asturias, Almeria, Murcia, Badajoz, Albacete, Teruel, Alava, Valladolid, Segovia and in practically every corner of the country have come together to sew solidarity masks for health personnel, supermarket cashiers, transporters and other essential workers.
Organised mutual aid
Since the beginning of the state of emergency, citizens have shown enormous solidarity. People began to instantly offer to help others by offering to go shopping for the elderly, to look after the children of parents who had to continue working and specialists have offered to provide psychological support to those who may need it All these initiatives have grown and become better organised. One example is the Frenar la Curva Maps a solidarity platform which, under the slogan “Together we are stronger”, organises solidarity initiatives through an interactive map. Both those who want to lend a hand and those who need it can enter and search for their city and mark their offer or request, so that other users can respond.
