It is an aid to the elderly in times of pandemic and is based in the Algarve. The COVID Lares telephone line (707 20 70 70), available nationwide, began operating this Friday, October 2nd, being operated by the Algarve Biomedical Center (ABC). The start-up was attended by the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, who insisted on highlighting the role of the Algarve region in the fight against the pandemic.
Ana Mendes Godinho visited the call center of this line, mounted at the Algarve Stadium, the headquarters from ABC in these times of Covid-19.
In this new telephone line, the Algarve Biomedical Center has a partnership with Santa Casa da Misericórdia in Lisbon.
“Homes have been one of our priorities due to the fragility and vulnerability of the elderly to Covid-19. With this project, what is now available is a telephone line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week», explained minister Ana Mendes Godinho.
This will be a line dedicated exclusively to homes for technical support and information.
"There will always be someone available to answer questions, whether about measures to be adopted, the need for personal protective equipment or for managing a situation," added the official.
And that was exactly what Ana Mendes Godinho could see on the spot, in a demonstration made by two of the workers of the call center, in relation to a hypothetical case of Covid-19 in an institution.
Nuno Marques, president of the Algarve Biomedical Center (ABC), an organization that brings together the University of Algarve and the University Hospital Center of the Algarve, explained to journalists that the entire «operationalization of this line will be done by ABC».
“Here people from ABC will work, who have been in training for about a month. We have students linked to health courses, doctors and people who were previously linked to tourism», he explained.
For now, the line starts with shifts: five people during the day and one at night (from 00:00 to 6:00), but “there is capacity to double the number, if necessary”.
Santa Casa da Misericórdia in Lisbon will be "a key partner" here, as it will work on "dissemination and monitoring so that we can have direct articulation with institutions", said Nuno Marques.
As this is a national project, minister Ana Mendes Godinho praised, even so, «Algarve for launching this line for the whole country».
“It is through here [the Algarve] that this response is being given, in terms of monitoring, personalization and guaranteeing that homes always have someone on the other side”, he considered.
For the rest, this line will remain “working as long as necessary while we are in a pandemic”, guaranteed Nuno Marques.
"What is planned for now is until December of next year, we do not know how long it will take, but there will be a constant adaptation," he concluded.
Photos: Pedro Lemos | Sul Informação
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