LISBON, May 11 (Xinhua) -- A Portuguese prominent expert said on Monday that Portugal has effectively controlled the COVID-19 pandemic, because the measures adopted gave "time for the health system" to prepare.
"In general, we did things well. We had time to prepare hospitals, and the success was in primary cares," said Pulmonologist Filipe Froes, consultant to the Directorate-General for Health, in an interview with the RTP television channel.
He said that the success was mainly contributed to the response time, because Portugal acted early and firmly.
"We had three first-rate hospitals that were able to withstand the first clash for a few weeks, and this clash was essential for second-line hospitals to have time to prepare," he explained.
Meanwhile, Froes said that he feels regretted in his preliminary assessment of the fight against the novel coronavirus in Portugal, adding that the response time could be even better if he knew the seriousness of the problem he was facing.
He added that there were delays in responding to calls to the emergency telephone service and diagnostics.
"The supply of personal protective equipment took a while until the distribution chains were well aligned, as well as failures in some equipment, such as ventilators," he said, noting that this caused several delays in implementing measures and accessing devices.
Froes, a member of the Order of Doctors' crisis office, said that the work of Portuguese doctors and health professionals was also fundamental.
"We realized the importance of a strong national health service, of the recognition and appreciation of health professionals", he said.
As of Monday, Portugal has recorded 1,144 deaths from COVID-19 and 27,679 cases of infection, with 2,549 recovered, the health authorities said. Enditem
