In a telephone interview with the Lusa agency, the president of the Independent Doctors Union (SIM), Roque da Cunha, said that Portugal registers more than 50 doctors infected with the Covid-19 pandemic virus, with the last five cases identified at SAMS Hospital, in Lisbon, and that there are more than 150 doctors in quarantine, appealing to the Government to provide more means for those professionals to work protected and protect patients.

“At this point, as far as we know, infected doctors will already surpass fifty. More than 150 doctors quarantined. (...) More recently it happened at Hospital do SMAS, where five doctors testified positive and one more technician, one of them is at Hospital Curry Cabral [Lisbon] ”, revealed Roque da Cunha.

The SIM president noted that "with sick doctors there is hardly any capacity to respond to the exponential growth of the epidemic".

"Yesterday [Saturday] it was announced that there are two million masks, but we have indications every day of the difficulty of the availability of these masks reaching health professionals", he warned, asking doctors not to take risks and that in case of not be properly protected, and there is a serious suspicion of the virus, that they take extra care.

The Minister of Health, Marta Temido, admitted on Saturday that some hospital units left to fight Covid-19 with low 'stocks' of protective masks and announced a reinforcement of one million units of this equipment, to be delivered during this period. week.

Roque da Cunha criticized the Government for not listening to doctors in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic, saying that they are available to help.

"Let technicians and doctors advise the Government, and we are fully available, like the Order of Doctors, to do so, unfortunately they have not yet called us," he said.

On the new five cases of doctors infected with the Covid-19 virus at SAMS Hospital, Roque da Cunha called on that private hospital unit to “make the contingency plan public”, stating that pandemic prevention measures are publicly unknown.

Asked by Lusa about the Portuguese thanks to the health professionals, going out to the windows and balconies at 22:00 to clap, on Saturday night, Roque da Cunha says he is moved.

“It has indeed been an acknowledgment that we are grateful, which in fact should be extended by the Government in relation to our part. We saw this recognition from people. We need to be protected to treat them in the best way and, in fact, this recognition I must say that it moves me, moreover, in the spontaneous way in which it was organized ”, he said.