MADRID (Reuters) – An 85-year-old woman whose family believed she died of the coronavirus shocked relatives when she returned home nine days after she was told she had been buried, a diary.
After a mixture of names, Rogelia Blanco’s family was informed that the retiree died of COVID-19 on January 13 and that her funeral was the next day, the newspaper La Voz de Galicia said. Due to coronavirus protocols, they were unable to attend.
Thus, when she arrived in shape and returned to the nursing home in Xove, in northern Spain, on Saturday, where her husband, Ramón Blanco, also lived, she was overwhelmed, according to the newspaper.
“I could not believe it. I was crying, after my wife’s death, ”he quoted him, adding that it was the woman who shared a room with Blanco who had died.
The newspaper cited that the San Rosendo Foundation, which runs the care home, said the mistake occurred when Blanco and other residents who tested positive for COVID-19 were moved to another home. care on December 29 for specialized treatment.
“Among the transferred elderly people were two women who were assigned the same room,” the foundation said, according to La Voz de Galicia. They were moved to the Os Gozos residence in Pereiro de Aguiar, 223 km (139 miles) from Xove.
“An identification error during the process of moving Xove to Pereiro de Aguiar led to the certification of the death of one of them on January 13, even though the identity was mistakenly assigned,” he said.
The foundation expressed its regret for the “unfortunate incident,” the newspaper said, citing the statement, which added: “This is a one-time event, among the more than 100 transfers that have been made since last December to Os Gozos “
A court has been informed to reverse the error over Blanco’s death, according to the statement. The foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Report by Graham Keeley; edited by Philippa Fletcher