The Regional Secretary for Health revealed that the Azores Airlines plane coming from China, which landed today in Ponta Delgada, carried “personal protective equipment, surgical masks, gloves, disposable goggles and gowns to ensure the safety of health professionals and users,” as part of the strategy to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Teresa Machado Luciano spoke during the delivery of the cargo, announcing that a "new flight, in a chartered plane, is scheduled for next weekend to carry more surgical masks, FFP2 and FFP3 filtering respiratory protection masks, non-sterile gloves and swabs."

The Azores Airlines plane that landed today in Ponta Delgada carried 270,500 surgical masks, 700 thousand gloves, 33,500 disposable goggles and 20,300 gowns. 

The Secretary for Health stated that the personal protective equipment will be “distributed among hospitals, island health units, humanitarian associations of firefighters and private social solidarity institutions, alongside other Regional Administration workers.”

The flight operated by Azores Airlines, which departed from Ponta Delgada last Saturday, was "the fastest and safest solution to ensure the timely delivery of personal protective equipment to professionals fighting the pandemic in the field and, consequently, to the entire population," stressed the Regional Secretary. 

“The Government has undertaken a very significant investment effort, amounting to 9.3 million Euros, as a matter of urgency,” the Regional Secretary said, ensuring that the Government continues to "monitor stocks in the Azores on a daily basis."

Teresa Machado Luciano stated that there is shared management and solidarity among health units, so “if there is a shortage of material in one health unit, another can quickly provide the necessary equipment in order to ensure the safety of health professionals and patients." 

"If necessary, at any time, we will reinforce the regional strategic reserve," said the Regional Secretary. 

Teresa Machado Luciano also emphasised that, in view of a possible evolution to the pandemic mitigation phase, we remain “in contact with national and international suppliers in case more orders are needed."