64 out of 150 older people living outside of Milan in Italy have died, how could that happen?

Paolo Bianchi, Mayor of Mediglia, does not answer the phone first because he cannot believe that someone from Sweden wants to contact him. But he is well aware that something remarkable has happened in the municipality he represents.

Mediglia has 12,000 inhabitants, most recently 72 dead. 64 of them lived in the same nursing home in the Mombretto area.

– Thank God the situation has stabilized. We don’t know if the problem is solved, but now almost a week has passed and nobody has died, says the mayor.

Municipal residents in general it has managed relatively well since the new coronavirus, despite living in the most virus-prone region, Lombardy.

Otherwise, we had eight deaths, which is obviously tragic in each case, but eight deaths during a winter flu season is a normal situation. Unfortunately, the elderly are the most affected, since the virus affects the elderly more than children.

In the municipality, they discovered what was happening when they saw the recorded deaths.

– We knew from the beginning that it was a critical and difficult situation. The figures received by the municipality are the best updated. If someone dies or is born, we know it in real time, says Mayor Bianchi, who belongs to the post-fascist party of the brothers in Italy.

It is not established that they are dead. in Mediglia he had covid-19. No one knows how many people have died from the virus in homes in Italy, as many have not been tested. But Italy’s counterpart to the Public Health Authority (ISS) is giving an overview of the situation.

According to the authority, there are approximately 4,500 nursing homes in Italy, with approximately 300,000 residents in total. The average age is 85 years and 60 percent suffer from some form of dementia.

Borromea’s facilities in Mediglia are private, as are most nursing homes in the country.

Of the 19,575 people who So far included in the authority’s review, there are 57 deaths that tested positive in February and March. But another 666 had flu-like symptoms, and the authority’s researchers believe that at least half of them may have died from the virus, La Stampa writes.

“The situation is very serious, because unfortunately the virus has entered many facilities, although, of course, not everyone is in the same situation,” says Carlo Borghetti, from the Lombardy Regional Council.

Just before we listen, he has been talking to an older person to get the last picture.

– When you don’t test, you don’t know who is dying from the virus, but the death toll compared to previous years makes it obvious why. It cannot be explained in any other way. These are amazing numbers. 20 dead in one place, 30 in another, it is not only in Mediglia. These are heavy numbers, he says.

Carlo Borghetti believes that some Mistakes were made in Lombardy that may explain that more people appear to have died in nursing homes there than in other regions.

On March 8, the region decided that older residents could receive older patients who were discharged from hospitals.

– Many people said no, thank you, but many received these patients. I say it was a mistake, because it is an illusion that patients can be separated. Older residents are not equipped as hospitals. It is not enough to close a door.

In the neighboring Veneto region, it was decided instead that everyone who would move into nursing homes had to have a certificate showing that they were not infected.

But the decision is obviously not the only one. The explanation of the infection that reaches the homes of the elderly, says Carlo Borghetti.

– The region told private houses that they would get masks. But masks could not be obtained, and especially during the first few weeks, staff did not have access to adequate protective equipment. He went to the hospitals.

– Older residents are not protected in the same way. But residents have the same dignity as patients in hospitals, says Carlo Borghetti.

Among Italian residents who responded to the health authority form, 86 percent say they have had difficulty acquiring personal protective equipment, 36 percent lack staff, and 27 percent don’t know how to isolate to those infected by others. accommodation.

Carlo Borghetti is an engineer and worked for 14 years with standards for quality management in older people.

– This is a very important topic, because thousands die. We cannot think of saving the young and letting the old die. It is not democracy, it is not civilization, he says.

Carlo Borghetti too His Democratic Party (PD) belongs to the opposition on the Lombardy right. On March 30, important decisions were made to support and protect the elderly, he says. New residents and staff must now be tested for the virus. Visiting bans have become increasingly difficult.

– The problem for the elderly is twofold. There are the guests, and then there are doctors, nurses, staff. The staff goes home and comes back, and if someone tests positive they take the virus away.

They are constantly working to expand the testing capacity, and have gone from three laboratories to 22 that work in Lombardy. They will become even more.

In Mediglia, family members talk to residents about forming a committee and somehow notifying the elderly.

The accommodation itself has responded in press releases, stating that since February 22, two days after the “Italian patient” was discovered at the Codogno resort, they have introduced all the measures required by the authorities and put those who do not have symptoms to except.

Milva Ultural’s mother, 55, Gilda, 87, is one of those who died. The daughter, one of the twelve siblings, tells Corriere della Sera that she does not believe the staff was honest about how her mother was.

– We had to organize the funeral and cremation on the phone. Everything in quarantine. I remember when I was visiting my mother in early March, the staff didn’t even wear masks. They had them around their necks. “Otherwise, the elderly will be afraid.” Do you know why I want to know the truth now? Because he had done it for his children, says Milva Ulturale.

Mayor Paolo Bianchi says he cannot judge whether the accommodation has acted correctly or not, he is not a doctor.

– I have spoken with relatives who, absurdly, have thanked me for informing them. Of course, they knew that their relatives had died, but not many others did, he says.

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