Spain is suffering from one of the worst outbreaks of the coronavirus in the world and the employees of the Israeli embassy in Madrid have not been spared, Ynet reported.

The outbreak in the embassy is a good example of how fast the coronavirus can spread in the workplace. Three weeks ago, the day before the embassy was closed and the employees began working from home, one of the consuls was diagnosed with the virus as well as a local Spanish employee. The two infected about half of the employees of the embassy, including three diplomats (who also infected their families), as well as Israeli employees of the embassy and local Spanish employees. Currently, about 24 employees of the embassy are sick with the coronavirus.

“The whole staff was affected by the virus one way or another,” Assaf Moran, Israel’s Deputy Ambassador to Spain told Ynet.

“It took us 24 hours from the moment that they realized that someone is sick in the embassy until we began working from our homes. In those 24 hours, everyone in the embassy was apparently exposed to it. There were a few who weren’t infected, but fifty percent were. We completed the quarantine period and currently, we’re making efforts to reopen the embassy in a reduced capacity in order to prevent further infections.”

Assaf and his wife had light symptoms of the coronavirus and are now recovering. Of the embassy employees that contracted the virus, there were only 2-3 that required medical care.

“As one who experienced light symptoms of the coronavirus, without fever and coughing, but with muscle aches and weakness, I can tell you that it’s worse than the flu. You can’t compare this to the regular flu. It’s much worse.”

Although Spain is suffering from an extreme outbreak, the third-worst in the world, with 102,136 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 9,053 fatalities, Moran says that the Spanish people haven’t fallen into despair.

“There’s a lot of patriotism here,” Moran said. “Every evening, people go out to their balconies and clap their hands for the medical staff. It’s a wonderful experience and we also take part in it. But there is a sense of fear here. People have been barricaded in their homes for a very long time and only going out for essentials.”

“Initially, the government responded relatively late but immediately afterward, they implemented almost every possible step to prevent infections and did whatever it could. Today you can only go out alone. Anyone out in a group of 2-3 people will be stopped.”

Despite the situation, the embassy, led by Israel’s Ambassador to Spain Rodica Radian-Gordon (who didn’t contract the virus) is continuing to work from home using Zoom and email, maintaining diplomatic, economic and consular ties.

The embassy has also been assisting Israelis stranded in Spain who wished to return home. “It’s important to note that we and other Israeli representatives throughout the world are continuing to work even now to take care of Israelis who wish to return home – from the Far East, South America and Europe. The embassies are helping Israelis find flights. If one connection was needed to reach Israel, today it’s at least two. We achieve this using diplomatic ties.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)