Cesc Fabregas has offered pay for hotel rooms and expenses to protect nursing home patients where residents and staff tested positive for the coronavirus.
Former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Fabregas, 32, decided to make the kind gesture after news of staff members and almost half of the patients in the Verge del Remei nursing home tested positive for the coronavirus, officially named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization.
The midfielder’s maternal great-grandmother reportedly stays in the residence, however, it is unclear if she has been diagnosed with the virus.
The nursing home is located in the municipality Arenys de Munt in the autonomous community of Catalonia in northeastern Spain, which is very close to Fabregas’ hometown.
Local media report 13 of the 32 patients staying in the home tested positive for COVID-19 including staff and its director Soraya Real.
Real told local media “la Generalitat (Catalan government) has only shown good faith and not much else” prompting her and local Mayor Josep Sanchez to take matters into their own hands.
They plan on transporting patients who tested negative of the virus away from the home to ensure their safety and avoid any further cases.
The centre reportedly tested 16 members who did not present any symptoms of the virus which was not part of the protocol.
Sanchez explained: “It was to unburden the centre and take away stress from the workers allowing for further disinfection” adding “we are not waiting to be rescued.”
The testing resulted in only one case while the other 15 are expected to be transported to the three-star Dynamic Hotel located in the municipality of Caldes d’Estrac near the residence.
Local media report Fabregas will cover the costs of the hotel, medicine and any personal expenses at the hotel but has avoided making any public statements.
The patients will be attended by specialised staff from the nursing home and other hired professionals.
Spain has been one of the hardest-hit countries by the COVID-19. According to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University, there have been a reported 141,942 cases and 14,555 deaths.
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Story By: Juan Mayes , Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Golder’s News And Sport
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