The Spanish military carried out Operación Balmis during the Lock Down to combat the spread of Coronavirus in the country.

During the 98 days that it was operative, Spanish Army units carried out 20,000 disinfection actions, as well as setting up field hospitals and generally assisting the elderly to “save as many lives as possible.” In fact, most of their tasks were in homes for the elderly, considered the “ground zero” of Covid-19 in Spain.

The operation received its name in honour of the Spanish Army Doctor (Balmis) who headed a military mission in the 19th Century to take the smallpox vaccine to several parts of the world.

Nearly two centuries later, 8,200 soldiers were despatched to 2,302 towns and villages across Spain to help counter the spread of Coronavirus.

Military logistics used aircraft from both the Air Force and the Army to transport material to where it was needed, such as the field hospital set up in Madrid when its hospitals could no longer cope with the number of people requiring respirators in ICUs.

Military aircraft from 31 Wing were used to bring much needed masks from China, for example, amongst the 160 tonnes of cargo moved in over 70 flights.

Probably their most difficult task was the transport of bodies to morgues; they were transferred by road from the temporary morgue (an adapted ice rink) to crematoriums in other parts of the country. Nearly 3,000 of the soldiers engaged in this mission received psychological assistance.

(News: Spain)