The medical team at the intensive care unit of a hospital in northeastern Spain is working around the clock to battle the new coronavirus and save as many lives as they can.
The German Trias i Pujol hospital in Badalona has tripled the number of beds available for patients in critical condition due to COVID-19.
Many patients there have developed a bilateral pneumonia forcing doctors to intubate them and required assisted ventilation.
To try an ease breathing, patients at this ICU are also temporarily flipped onto their stomachs.
Many healthcare workers are needed to do this safely.
For most people the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.
The protective isolation measures for both patients in the 12 ICU boxes and the medical team treating them has forced hospital workers to use new methods of communication.
They exchange notes and make signs through a glass separating the ICU from the rest of the hospitals. Some also use walkie talkies.
Entering and leaving the ICU requires extensive and careful preparation and focus.
Medical staff must be careful not to let the virus out to avoid infecting their co-workers and families at home.
But even with all the precautions, health workers in Spain have been one of the most impacted by the new coronavirus.
Authorities in Spain say that 12,298 health workers in the country have so far tested positive.
The figure is 14.4% of the total reported infections, which rose on Monday above 85,000 and placed Spain ahead of China and only behind the United States and Italy in the list of nations with greater contagion.
