Cristiano Ronaldo donates lifesaving medical equipment to hospitals in Portugal

Forward and his agent are helping to equip three wards at hospitals in Lisbon and Porto

Tom Kershaw
Tuesday 24 March 2020 17:43 GMT
Comments
Coronavirus: How has sport been affected?

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Cristiano Ronaldo and his agent, Jorge Mendes, have donated lifesaving equipment to Portuguese hospitals as the country battles to treat patients with coronavirus.

The pair are donating medical equipment to two wards at Lisbon’s Santa Maria hospital, including 20 beds, ventilators, heart monitors, infusion pumps and syringes. The two will also equip a ward at the Santo Antonio hospital in Porto.

“We want to thank Ronaldo and Mendes for the initiative, which is so useful at the time the country needs everyone so much,” Paulo Barbosa, president of Santo Antonio’s administrative council, said in a statement.

Portugal has currently reported 2,362 cases of coronavirus and 30 deaths, far fewer than neighbours Spain, but the country’s healthcare system has already come under strain.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa revealed the government has already bought 500 ventilators and four million masks from China in an interview on Monday as the country prepares for an escalation in cases.

Portugal declared a state of emergency last week with restrictions on people’s movements.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in