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MADRID: In the deserted streets of Madrid, with few paying customers, taxi drivers who take doctors from house to house or take the sick to hospital have become an essential service, their free trips help first-rate doctors line to fight the virus.
Although its role has been largely anonymous, healthcare personnel say it has been essential as Spain has struggled against the worst epidemic that has killed nearly 25,000 people.
In Madrid, by far the most affected area, more than 500 taxi drivers signed up as volunteers through the PideTaxi application, and have made more than 100,000 free trips.
“I work as many days as I can, so if they need help and I’m the closest, the app rings and I’m leaving,” says Gaby Saez, 45, who has spent the past six weeks behind the wheel from Spain. it imposed a strict national closure on March 14.
Despite the risks, he says that he is not afraid, that he is extremely careful, that he wears a mask and gloves and scrupulously disinfects his taxi after each trip.
“At times like these, we all have to do our part, even if what we can do is very limited.”
With taxi services available free to staff at 266 medical centers across the region, doctors have been able to visit patients at home, easing pressure on primary health care services.
“Health centers request a taxi so that they can make home visits to the elderly, to those who need treatment or to people with Covid,” says PideTaxi president Andrés Veiga.
The idea was to reduce the number of people who go to health centers to avoid spreading the virus or transmitting the infection to medical personnel.
“A taxi can make 10 or 20 visits a day with health personnel. Instead of patients being admitted to health centers, doctors or nurses are going to see them, “he said.
“Being able to take a taxi has made a big difference in stopping the spread of the virus, helping contain it, and preventing medical personnel from becoming infected.” EU health chiefs at the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control say measures to prevent transmission in health centers “are an immediate priority.”
This is particularly true in Spain, which has suffered more than 215,000 cases, about 19 percent involving healthcare workers, one of the highest percentages reported in the world.
Although the epidemic peaked earlier this month, doctors say free taxis have made a big difference.
“For me, it has been absolutely essential,” says Sara del Carmen Vicente, a 23-year-old nurse at the Madrid hospital on October 12.
Posted in Dawn, May 3, 2020
