Can Erözden
08 May 2020•Update: 08 May 2020
ANKARA
Spanish football club Atletico Madrid on Thursday donated 20,000 masks in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
"This morning at the Wanda Metropolitano, the Atletico de Madrid Foundation handed over 20,000 masks to San Blas-Canillejas District. The masks will be distributed amongst our district neighbors," the La Liga club said on its website.
San Blas-Canillejas is a district of Madrid near the club's home ground, Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
After playing at Vicente Calderon Stadium for over five decades, Atletico Madrid moved to its new home at Wanda Metropolitano once it was opened in 2017.
This stadium hosted the 2019 UEFA Champions League final as Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 to win the title.
"The San Blas neighborhood and its residents have welcomed the Wanda Metropolitano project with open arms right from the start. Their support has been fundamental, and these masks represent a small gesture of appreciation," said Atletico Madrid President Enrique Cerezo.
Cerezo added that the coronavirus crisis in Spain has affected "many vulnerable families."
Since the virus emerged last December in the Chinese city of Wuhan, it has spread to at least 187 countries and regions.
There are more than 3.8 million confirmed infections globally and nearly 269,000 deaths, while more than 1.2 million patients have recovered.
The Spanish Health Ministry said Thursday that 26,070 people have lost their lives to COVID-19, while 221,447 have been infected. A total of 128,511 people have recovered.
On Thursday, Madrid confirmed 128 more hospitalizations, 86 new infections and 38 more deaths.
