Portugal confirms first death by Covid-19. Victim was 80 years old

The Minister of Health confirmed this Monday the occurrence of the first death caused by the coronavirus in Portugal, an 80-year-old man who had been hospitalized for several days.

“We would like to express our sincere condolences, from the Ministry of Health and the National Health Service, to the family and friends of this patient,” said Marta Temido, at a press conference. At the same time, the minister welcomed the “commitment” of health professionals at Santa Maria Hospital in “treating and providing care and support to this patient.”

Marta Temido said this “is a moment of discipline and civic behaviour.” “We are at a time when it is important that we all realize the risks that we run and the risk of our society becoming unstructured. And we cannot allow that to happen,” she said.

The Health Minister hardened her speech and compared this moment to “a war”. She recalled that “even when England was suffering air strikes during World War II, the British kept on working”. “We cannot interrupt our social life because we cannot run out of bread, water, energy, waste collection. But we have to maintain appropriate behaviour for the moment in which we live,” she reiterated in statements broadcast by SIC Notícias.

This news comes at a time when there are 18 people infected with the new coronavirus in intensive care units in Portugal. This man would thus make part of the 331 cases that were known by the Directorate General of Health until last midnight, 86 more than those reported the day before.

In this update, of the total number of confirmed cases, 142 are in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo region, 138 in Porto, 31 in Centro and 13 in the Algarve. There is also one confirmed case in the Azores and five were “exported” abroad. The majority of the cases are in the 40 to 49 age group, and 139 are interned.