With Spain moving forward in the fight against COVID-19, Queen Letizia has slightly increased her work schedule. She has been working from homes since the end of the March as per the Government instructions. Today, Queen Letizia began her day with a virtual meeting with the representatives of organizations of people with diabetes to learn about the situation facing this group during the epidemic.
This group is not more likely to be infected than the general population, but it does suffer complications, which makes them a risk population for COVID-19. This has been verified in China, where it has been observed that people with diabetes had higher rates of serious complications. However, if diabetes is well controlled, the risk of developing serious disease is the same as that of the general population. Therefore, the Spanish Diabetes Society recommends that these people maintain the best possible metabolic control to be prepared for a possible infectious episode.
Letizia spoke with the president of the Madrid Diabetes Association, Pilar Martínez Gimeno; with the president of the Foundation for Diabetes Novo Nordisk , Olga Espallardo García. These two organizations have turned to the care of people with diabetes with the first line of care through electronic messages and by phone of all their queries, opening an Expert Channel in which different specialists answer questions from people with diabetes, and carrying out an information campaign on social networks.
The common objective of the Madrid Diabetes Association and the Novo Nordisk Diabetes Foundation (FD) is to eliminate prescription barriers (such as visas) to tailor treatment to the needs of the patient, favour access to healthcare technology for the better control of their disease and continue to stimulate healthy lifestyle habits to lead a more balanced lifestyle and, at the same time, eliminate the discrimination that still exists associated with this chronic pathology.
Next King Felipe and Queen Letizia held a videoconference with a representation of the Board of Directors of the Educational Association Ithaka. Don Felipe and Doña Letizia have spoken with the General Director of the association, Felipe Campos; the head of Fundraising and Quality, Diana Calderón; and that of Institutional Relations and Networks, Laura Candelario.
After the closure of schools and the establishment of a state of alarm, the Itaca Educational Association and its more than 50 workers – who continue to maintain employment – constitute a social lifeguard in a highly vulnerable neighbourhood, serving weekly more than 1,500 people.
In the first days, they processed direct aid to about 150 families to respond to their first needs, such as food, hygiene, and even psychological support for the most complex families. These grants, after the first month, are being supplemented, week by week, and already reach almost 30,000 euros executed, with an estimate of exceeding in the next few weeks the 70,000 euros in direct aid.
The Itaca Educational Association is the coordinator of a state aid program in collaboration with Obra Social la Caixa to fight against child poverty throughout the northern part of the city of L’Hospitalet. It covers six neighbourhoods and manages nearly 900,000 euros annually, responding to almost 800 vulnerable families and around 1,500 children in poverty.
The Spanish Royal couple ended the day with a conversation with the heads of the Spanish Federation of Food and Beverage Industries through a videoconference. They were informed about the situation of these companies, belonging to an industry considered essential during the state of emergency caused by the COVID-19 epidemic.
Don Felipe and Doña Letizia have spoken with the president of the FIAB, Tomás Pascual Gómez-Cuétara, and with the general director of the federation, Mauricio García de Quevedo. The FIAB is made up of 45 sectoral associations. It represents food and beverage producers, representing 3% of national GDP and 16% of the Spanish industry as a whole.
Following the protocols and health recommendations established by the authorities, the food chain has worked from the outset in coordination to guarantee supplies. Since the current health alert was decreed, the sector, declared essential/strategic, has acted to respond to the demand for products, which at first was very high as a result of the insecurity and uncertainty it generated in the population, that, in some cases, he made a disproportionate collection of supplies.
CasaReal
The food and beverage industry has made a corporate commitment to the neediest consumers in this crisis. There is a wide list of companies that are making financial donations, of materials and products both in health centres and to disadvantaged families or that have contributed to the distribution of masks or the manufacture of disinfecting gel: Argal, Bimbo, Calidad Pascual, Calvo, Campofrío, Danone, Ebro Foods, El Pozo, Ferrero, Gallina Blanca, Grefusa, Heineken, Kellog, Nueva Pescanova, and many other companies have been delivering hundreds of tons and litres of water, dairy products and infant food and other products to the Food Banks, Red Cross, Caritas or to Emergency Centers throughout Spain or to the Hospital of the Community of Madrid at IFEMA.
For the day, Letizia chose a black striped blazer that she also wore last Month during a videoconference. Once again Letizia teamed up the blazer with black trousers and a white top.
Update: @ardillitas11 on Twitter identified the blazer as Hugo Boss Kocani Black Striped Women Blazer.
She was wearing her black Hugo Boss Lara Italian Pebbled Loafers.
And finished the look with bezel stud earrings and Karen Hallam ring.
