An elderly Hispanic 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 informed that the 85-year-old woman died of the virus on January 13 and that her funeral would be the next day, according to La Voz de Galicia newspaper. They were unable to attend because of the protocols in place during the pandemic.
But on Saturday – 10 days later – she came back to the house in Xove, Northern Spain. Her husband, who also lives there, was in shock.
“I couldn’t believe it,” her husband told the newspaper. “I cried after my wife died.”
The confusion arose when Blanco and other residents who tested positive for COVID-19 were transferred late last month to another home, the Os Gozos residence in Pereiro de Aguiar, about 139 miles away, for specialized treatment.
The woman who died was, in fact, Blanco’s roommate.
“Among the elderly people transferred were two women who were assigned the same room,” the San Rosendo Foundation, which runs the Xove nursing home, told the newspaper. “An identification error during the transfer process from Xove to Pereiro de Aguiar led to the death of one of them who was certified on January 13, although the identity was falsely assigned.”
The foundation expressed regret, calling the confusion an “unfortunate incident,” the paper said.
“This is a one-off event, among more than 100 transfers made to Os Gozos since December last year,” the statement said.
A court has been informed to correct the mistake.
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