Doctors at a hospital in Barcelona have told Sky News the coronavirus outbreak is like a “natural disaster” that happens everyday.
We witnessed the life and death battles in the intensive care units in the Hospital del Mar.
The director of the hospital, Julio Pascual, told me that they’ve had to convert the operating theatres into more critical care beds to deal with the sheer number of patients.
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Operating theatres have been converted to allow more critical beds
He says more than 75% of the hospital’s capacity is now taken up dealing with COVID-19.
One entire month, every day, 60, 70 patients with severe conditions arrive.
Every doctor here, even the surgeons, the neurologists, the ophthalmologists, have been taking care of respiratory patients.
Even medical students are being recruited to take care of these patients.
On the wards, as soon as a bed becomes free, another patient arrives.
They all look the same; desperately ill with each breath a struggle.
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Sky News witnessed doctors in full protective gear treating patients
The only sound is the urgent movement of the medical teams and the bleeping of the machines keeping the patients alive.
All the medical staff are dressed from head to toe in protective gowns, masks and goggles.
It is a surreal sight and is the reality of the deepening crisis Spain is facing.
Spain watched in horror at what was happening in Italy but is now following in that country’s sickly footsteps.
In fact, the outbreak may soon be even worse. Already more people are infected with the virus.
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All medical staff are dressed in protective gowns, masks and goggles
And according to the latest data, one in 10 coronavirus patients here has now died of the disease – a very high mortality rate.
In the last 24 hours, health officials recorded another 683 deaths, bringing the total in the country to 15,238.
Spain now has a total of 152,446 cases of coronavirus.
Many of the patients in the intensive care units are unconscious and have been turned on their front to improve their chances of survival.
In each bed the battle for life is played out. Lonely wars with no loved ones by the bedside.
The infectiousness of the novel coronavirus makes sure of that.
Doctors do their best but even something as simple as the human touch is difficult in these conditions.
The head of ICU, Dr Roman Adalia, says personal protective equipment (PPE) makes simple tasks much more difficult.
“If you need all of these clothes for management of patients, if you need intubation, if you need to put in a catheter or for any manoeuvres, complicated manoeuvres, it’s very difficult to work in these clothes,” he says.
A good outcome is down to the skill of the clinicians, but they also admit that when dealing with a virus that was unknown to the world just a few months ago, luck also plays its part.
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Adria Crespo Monreal is lucky. He arrived here gasping for air.
Now recovering well, he can give a thumbs up and an account of a disease which he says was the worst experience of his life.
“I came to the hospital and once I entered the hospital, I can’t remember what happened,” he says.
“This is my third week here but I’m getting fine.”
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Adria Crespo Monreal is recovering from COVID-19
Doctors say this nation – like nearly everywhere else in Europe – was ill prepared for the enormity of the crisis.
There is a shortage of protective clothing and as for beds – even sports halls are being converted into wards.
The warning here is about ending the lockdown too soon.
Overwhelmed, the medics fear this could be just the beginning and a second outbreak could be even more devastating.
