Covid-19: An online lifeline in Portugal for old ventilators amid coronavirus crisis

A woman wearing a protective mask as a preventive measure against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) enters the subway at Rossio Square in downtown Lisbon, Portugal. Though Portugal, which declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, has only reported 2,362 coronavirus cases and 33 deaths, far fewer than in hard-hit Italy and Spain, the country's health system is already under mounting pressure. — Reuters

LISBON: As hospitals struggle to cope with a shortage of life-saving ventilators to treat coronavirus patients, a group of volunteers from Portugal launched on Tuesday evening a unique platform hoping to bring old, unused medical equipment back to life.

On the online platform Vent2Life, Portuguese hospitals can create free accounts and report malfunctioning equipment stored at their facilities. The platform will then link the hospital with a skilled technician who can fix the problem.