Spanish soldiers find elderly people dead and abandoned in retirement homes

This is heartbreaking.

Spanish soldiers, who are helping the country during the Covid-19 outbreak that has hit the county hard in recent weeks, have reported they've found elderly patients in retirement homes abandoned, and in some cases, dead in their beds. "We are going to be strict and inflexible when dealing with the way old people are treated in these residences," Defence Minister Margarita Robles said in an interview on Monday. She said that members of the specialist Military Emergencies Unit had found the corpses as they carried out their duties. "The army, during certain visits, found some old people completely abandoned, sometimes even dead in their beds," she added. An investigation into the incidents has been launched and the general prosecutor in Spain has been notified. She warned that anyone ignoring their responsibilities would be prosecuted and said such actions would not be tolerated. “We’re going to be very blunt and implacable over this and we have a very clear message: the full weight of the law will fall on those who don’t meet their obligations,” she added. The Covid-19 outbreak has now claimed 2,182 lives in the country as of Monday – up from 1,720 on Sunday – while the number of confirmed cases has increased from 28,572 to 33,089. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Sunday that the number of diagnosed cases would rise in the coming days "pushing capacities to the limit". He announced on Sunday that the government wants to extend the state of emergency for another 15 days. The decision will be put to a vote on Wednesday.