While Covid19 has taken a brutal shape in Spain, Queen Letizia of Spain is trying to do her best she can while working from home. Spain has reportedly the highest number of daily deaths due to Covid19 in the world. On Wednesday, Queen Letizia held a videoconference with the President of the Federation of Associations of Deafblind People of Spain, Francisco J. Trigueros, to learn about the situation in which this group lives due to the COVID-19 epidemic, especially because It’s people who need touch to communicate with the world.
The president explained to Doña Letizia that the limitations imposed by social distancing have forced them to eliminate group meetings, trying to ensure that guide-interpreters protect themselves, cancel services and face new ones, such as the need to report on the situation of emergency for deafblind people who live alone at home. When they can, they rely on video calls, email or instant messaging adapted to their level of literacy, but if it is not feasible, the guide-interpreter should go to the home to find out how they are doing and help when necessary. They are also providing support to make the purchase for these people since the changes in the supermarkets prevent them from using their memory to know where the products are.
Later on, Queen joined King Felipe for a video conference with the medical team and scientist at the Hospital Clínico San Carlos de Madrid, led by Managing Director of the Hospital, Jose Soto Bonel.
The San Carlos Clinic is the first hospital in Spain and the second in the world to participate in the new global trial of the World Health Organization (WHO), called SOLIDARITY, to discover an effective treatment against COVID-19. This is an unprecedented, coordination-based effort to collect robust scientific data quickly during a pandemic. The study, which could include thousands of patients in dozens of countries, has been designed to be as simple as possible so that even hospitals overwhelmed by an avalanche of COVID-19 patients can participate. With approximately 15% of COVID-19 patients suffering from serious illnesses and crowded hospitals, treatments are desperately needed.
In this regard, instead of creating compounds from scratch that can take years to develop and test, researchers and public health agencies are looking to reuse medications already approved for other diseases and known to be largely safe. The selection of centres and coordination of the study is carried out by the SCREN Platform, whose coordination unit is located at the San Carlos Clinical Hospital in Madrid.
For today’s meetings, Queen Letizia wore a black blazer suit with sky blue top that has black lace detailing at the neckline. She finished her look with her bezel stud earrings and Karen Hallam ring.
Yesterday, King Felipe and Queen Letizia talked to the President of the United States of America Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. The Royal couple was scheduled to visit the US for 3 days state visit on April 21. The visit has not postponed and will be scheduled once again after the pandemic.