An elderly Spanish woman surprised her family when she showed up at her nursing home – more than a week after they were told she had died of COVID-19.
Rogelia Blanco’s relatives were told that the 85-year-old woman died of the virus on January 13 and that her funeral would be the following day, according to the newspaper La Voz de Galicia. They were unable to attend due to protocols in place during the pandemic.
But on Saturday – 10 days later – she returned to her home in Xove, northern Spain. Her husband, who also lives there, was in shock.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said the husband to the newspaper. “I was crying after my wife died.”
The confusion came when Blanco and other residents who tested positive for COVID-19 were moved to another home, the Os Gozos residence in Pereiro de Aguiar, about 139 kilometers away, for specialized treatment at the end of last month.
The woman who died was actually Blanco’s roommate.
“Among the transferred elderly were two women who were given the same room,” the San Rosendo Foundation, which runs the Xove nursing home, told the newspaper. “An identification error during the process of transferring Xove to Pereiro de Aguiar led to the death of one of them, certified on January 13, although the identity was wrongly assigned.”
The foundation expressed its regret and classified the confusion as an “unfortunate incident”, according to the newspaper.
“This is a unique event, among more than 100 transfers made since last December to Os Gozos,” said the statement.
A court was informed to reverse the error.
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