Associação Portuguesa de Empresas de Congressos, Animação Turística e Eventos (APECATE) provided human and material resources to help the National Health Service (Serviço Nacional de Saúde-SNS) in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The initiative originated in the Factory group with the support of APECATE. At the moment, the two institutions are collecting information from various promoters, agencies and businesses in the sector to understand what means are available.

“We can build temporary hospitals, triage centres, isolation rooms. We have in stock and there are available tents, shipping containers, furniture, generators, heaters, plumbing systems, electrical systems. We can also assemble these types of structures in spaces that are made available by owners who are not using them. We have computer systems that control access and that with small adaptations create user/client files with a few more fields necessary for temperature control, medication schedules”, it is said in the statement issued by the association last Monday.

In addition to material/equipment resources, APECATE states that industry professionals are also available to help. The event industry employs, in Portugal, around 30,000 people and it has “stopped 100%”. The institution believes that the sector can be a great help in fighting the pandemic and says that professionals have experience in “controlling crowds, shopping centres, logistics and building complex structures”, in addition to being used to “dealing with emergency situations and working under pressure”.

The statement ends with APECATE's call “to all producers, venue owners, agencies, service businesses, freelancers, audiovisual, media, businesses of shipping containers, generators, tents and structures, video, marketing, web design” to join forces and make their means and resources available to help the NHS.

Para além de recursos materiais, a APECATE afirma que também os profissionais do setor estão disponíveis para ajudar. A indústria de eventos emprega, em Portugal, cerca de 30.000 pessoas e está “100% parada”. A instituição acredita que o setor pode ser uma grande ajuda para o combate à pandemia e refere que os profissionais têm experiência em “controlar multidões, centros de compras, logística e construções de estruturas complexas”, para além de estarem habituados a “tratar de situações de emergência e a trabalhar sob pressão”.

O comunicado termina com o apelo da APECATE “a todas as produtoras, proprietários de espaços, agências, empresas de serviços, ‘freelancers’, audiovisuais, meios, empresas de contentores, geradores, tendas e estruturas, vídeo, ‘marketing’, webdesign” para unir forças e disponibilizarem os seus meios e recursos no auxílio ao SNS.