The Military Emergencies Unit (UME), the newest branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, is responsible for providing disaster relief. The unit is battling COVID-19 on several fronts: COVID-19 deceased transportation to secure deposits, patients transportation between hospitals, reconnaissance and disinfecting missions in targeted installations, like nursing houses.

The most important mission they are carrying out is disinfecting nursing homes. In Madrid alone, 50,000 elderly persons live in nursing homes. Almost half of the 20,000 casualties of coronavirus in the whole country lived in a nursing house and 95 percent of the victims were older than 60.

During their disinfecting missions, UME members have found dead bodies in nursing homes waiting to be removed.

The UME was created in 2006 to intervene in natural disasters and tackle chemical, nuclear, radiological and biological hazards.

Stringer: Jaime Alekos and Luis Carballo