Death arrived slowly at the nursing home where Chelo Megia works. Then it was everywhere.
On March 11, a Wednesday, Megia still thought the Residencia Nunez De Balboa in central Spain, where she had been an auxiliary nurse for 15 years, might avoid the new virus spreading rapidly across the country. "We saw it as far away," she said.
By Thursday, several elderly residents had been hospitalized. The staff learned later that some residents had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. On Friday a medical team arrived in head-to-toe hazmat gear that Megia had only ever seen in movies.