EDP donates beds for Covid-19 treatment to the Government of Espírito Santo | EDP Brasil

With the worsening of the Covid-19 crisis, EDP, Espírito Santo's electricity distributor, held yesterday afternoon, 31, together with the companies Suzano and Águia Branca, through the Espírito Santo em Ação business movement, the donation to the Espírito Santo government of 60 post-ICU beds for the treatment of patients affected by Covid-19. The Concessionaire has already earmarked more than R$1.7 million for actions to support public authorities and entities in Espírito Santo in combating the pandemic.

The donation was made in a virtual ceremony and was attended by Governor Renato Casagrande; the president of EDP in Brazil, João Marques da Cruz; the Vice President of Distribution of the Company, João Brito Martins; the director of EDP in Espírito Santo, Fernando Saliba; and directors from Espírito Santo in Action and partner companies.

Post-ICU beds are essential for the recovery of patients and contribute to the containment of Covid-19 in the state's health system. The amount allocated by EDP will exceed R$780 thousand.

In line with the State Government, the beds will be installed at Dório Silva and Jayme Santos Neves hospitals, in Serra, and Roberto Silvares hospital, in São Mateus. The structures, which will be modular (prefabricated) and provisional, will begin to be assembled in the coming days. The beds will be available to the health system for a period of 90 days and, after this period, all donated equipment will remain in hospitals.

“Once again, EDP stands alongside the state of Espírito Santo and its population. In this period, which is proving to be the hardest in terms of growth in the number of cases, we want to signal once again our support for the people of Espírito Santo. We are sure that, together, we can overcome this chapter of the pandemic”, says João Marques da Cruz, president of EDP in Brazil.

“This moment calls for collaboration and joint efforts. Public hospitals are in great demand. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, EDP has been carrying out support actions to the government and state entities and, in a phase in which the pandemic is intensifying, we could not fail to make our contribution once again." says the director of EDP in Espírito Santo, Fernando Saliba.

EDP has already earmarked more than R$1.7 million for actions to fight the pandemic in Espírito Santo. Of this total, in March 2020, R$ 1 million was donated to Santa Casa de Misericórdia in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, in the south of the state, for the purchase of individual protection supplies, equipment and medicines for the care of Covid-19 patients. In addition, 11 social projects were selected in the EDP Solidária notice – Covid 19, to put into practice their actions to fight the coronavirus in vulnerable communities in the state. The choice of projects had the participation of an external committee formed by Carlo Pereira, executive director of the Global Pact in Brazil, and Regina Esteves, CEO of the social organization Comunitas and was audited by EY.