Porto gets the first ten out of the 50 ventilators it has bought from China in the next days
Article
The first ten out of the 50 ventilators that Porto City Hall purchased in the city of Shenzhen to the hospitals of Santo António and São João are to be deployed from Hong Kong and delivered to Porto these next days.
These are high-speed ventilators of excellent quality to be used by Covid-19 patients in intensive care.
This purchase was only possible due to the excellent relations between Porto and Shenzhen, the world's most advanced technological city, and the Government of Macau that have identified suppliers and prioritised Porto regarding the corresponding delivery.
Both Chinese cities are twinned with Porto and friendship and cooperation ties have been strengthened for more than one occasion.
The Mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira visited Shenzhen last November. He met with Shenzhen's Mayor and participated in the China Hi-Tech Fair, one of the most important technological events in the planet.
It is worth highlighting that when the Municipality of Porto announced stricter measures to fight the outbreak of the new coronavirus, on 13th March, Rui Moreira informed that he was in touch with Porto's partners, namely Macau and Shenzhen.
"The idea is to import essential medical equipment from Shenzhen to help treat the most severe Covid-19 cases, namely ventilators made in Shenzhen with European certificate", referred Rui Moreira.
Other municipal initiatives
These unpanelled times we are all experiencing thus far, to fight the spread of Covid-19, has put the Municipality of Porto in the first line of support to public hospitals in the city, such as the set-up of a mission hospital in the city and the implementation of a surgical mask production unit jointly with an entrepreneur from Porto.
Also, Porto City Hall has deployed an unprecedented testing to retirement homes to help protect the most vulnerable citizens in the community, as well as their caretakers.
The Municipality of Porto has also been the first city in the country to implement internal contingency measures and the closures of public spaces and performances.