After a mix-up over names, the family of 85-year-old Rogelia Blanco were informed that the pensioner died of COVID-19 on Jan. 13 and her funeral, which they would not be able to attend due to coronavirus protocols.

So when she arrived fit and well back at the care home in Xove, northern Spain, on Saturday where her husband Ramón Blanco also lived, he was overwhelmed. “I could not believe it. I was crying, after the death of my wife,” he was quoted as saying, adding that it was the woman who shared a room with Blanco that actually died.

The San Rosendo Foundation, which runs the care home, said the error occurred when Blanco and other residents who tested positive for COVID-19 were transferred to another care home on Dec. 29 for specialised treatment.

“Among the elderly people transferred were two women who were assigned the same room,” the foundation said. They were transferred to the Os Gozos residency in Pereiro de Aguiar, 223 km from Xove.

“An identification error during the process of transfer from Xove to Pereiro de Aguiar led to the death of one of them being certified on Jan. 13, although the identity was wrongly assigned.”

The foundation expressed its regret for the “unfortunate incident”, a one-off event, among the over 100 transfers that have been carried out since last December.”

A court had been informed to reverse the mistake over Blanco’s death.