Luxembourg and France are dispatching doctors and nursing staff to Portugal to help in two local hospitals.
Luxembourg and France will be sending two teams of doctors and nurses to assist in the effort to combat the virus, the Portuguese government announced on Thursday.
"The health ministry has accepted the support offered by the Luxembourgish and French governments" to help intensive care services in highly affected hospitals, the statement said.
The Luxembourgish team of two doctors and two nurses will join a hospital in Evora in the south east of the country, while the French team of one doctor and three nurses will go to Almada, south of Lisbon. They are expected to arrive during the week of 15 February and to stay for two weeks.
Luxembourg willing to take in Covid-19 patients from Portugal
A German team of 26 military doctors and nurses is already helping at a private hospital in Lisbon. Further offers to take patients have come from Austria and Galicia, but this remains an option of last resort.
Portugal is currently one of the countries most affected by Covid-19 worldwide. Many hospitals are overwhelmed, particularly around Lisbon. According to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University Covid tracking project, the Mediterranean nation of just over 10 million has seen 778,369 confirmed cases to date, and 14,885 deaths.
