“The Municipality of Viseu informs, with great regret, that the Mayor, António Almeida Henriques, died this morning at the São Teotónio Hospital, victim of respiratory complications resulting from the Covid-19”, reads a press release from the Chamber, sent to the Lusa agency.

The social-democratic mayor took the Covid-19 test on March 4 and, despite the positive result, he felt good and “only with mild symptoms”, having continued to work from home.

However, a few days later, due to the worsening of the symptoms, he went to the emergency room of the Hospital de São Teotónio and ended up being hospitalized "for a better evaluation of the evolution".

On March 10, Almeida Henriques was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit, due to “worsening of respiratory failure”, which “led to the need for intubation and mechanical ventilation”.

“António Almeida Henriques was 59 years old and was Mayor of Viseu since 2013. His high democratic culture and political competence led him to occupy several functions of great responsibility, both at the level of associations, as well as at the political level", recalls the municipality.

"He was a deputy to the Assembly of the Republic, in the IX, X and XI and XII Legislatures and Vice-President of the PSD Parliamentary Group between 2005 and 2007 and 2010 and 2011. Between 2011 and 2013, he served as Deputy Secretary of State for the Economy and Regional Development of the XIX Constitutional Government, led by Pedro Passos Coelho”, he adds.