BrunoThevenin

Photojournalist
based in Madrid

Award of Excellence
Pictures of the Year International 83, 2026

Work / Story 13 of 16

The frontline in the fight against the virus

Location
Spain
Subject
Society
frames
17
Original title
El Salto :The frontline in the fight against the virus
Carlos Rubio, médico de la UVI-8 del SUMMA interviene en el domicilio de Fabio, colombiano de 73 años por posible contagio de COVID-19

01 / 17

Carlos Rubio, médico de la UVI-8 del SUMMA interviene en el domicilio de Fabio, colombiano de 73 años por posible contagio de COVID-19

This series was photographed in Madrid during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the city had become one of the hardest-hit places in the world, with some of the highest infection and mortality rates globally.

The work follows emergency medical teams from SUMMA 112 responding to suspected cases in people’s homes, and healthcare workers inside the Intensive Care Unit at Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, where COVID-19 patients continued to fill ICU beds.

As streets remained largely empty, hospitals operated under extreme pressure. Doctors, nurses, paramedics and technicians worked long hours under strict safety protocols, wearing full protective equipment while providing critical care, diagnostics and treatment.

These images document a moment of uncertainty and exhaustion, capturing the human cost of a health crisis that placed Madrid at the epicenter of a global emergency.

http://brunothevenin.org/the-frontline-in-the-fight-against-the-virus

Licensing and publication: brunothev@gmail.com