Ximo Puig: "It's more necessary than ever to have everybody's support for this common cause"

Generalitat Valenciana president, Ximo Puig, was interviewed by VCF Media Radio hours after a conversation with Valencia CF president Anil Murthy -in which he was informed of the donation of FFP2 face masks and thermometers by Peter Lim to hospitals in the region during this difficult time.

 Valenciana president, Ximo Puig, good afternoon.

XP: Good afternoon.

P1: This donation of healthcare material by Valencia CF, made through majority shareholder Peter Lim in Singapore and president Anil Murthy in Valencia, is very important. It shows the solidarity and commitment that Valencia CF have with people from the region.

XP: Definitely. We want to thank Peter Lim and Valencia CF for a donation that helps in a moment of extreme seriousness. This is a time in which it is more necessary than ever to have all kinds of support: Materials, morale and to stick together when faced with this coronavirus. We have to beat it. This is the big 'game' that we all have to win together.

P1: All of this healthcare material, which includes masks and thermometers, is essential for everyday work ad for healthcare workers who are fighting against the coronavirus.

XP: This material is going to be given fundamentally to those people who are our 'army' at the moment. This 'army' is the professionals who work in healthcare and the social side of the fight against the illness, in hospitals and residences, as well as those who are working to help us in supermarkets and other places. What we want right now is to thank Valencia CF and thank Peter Lim. We hope that they can help us to achieve better channels of communication with China, which is the great provider who we need to continue giving us the necessary materials to protect healthcare professionals and other workers.

P1: You've also spoken with Valencia CF president Anil Murthy. What did he tell you?

XP: As always, it was a very friendly conversation with Anil Murthy. There is a good relationship between Valencia CF and the Generalitat, as we have been working together for a long time on some previous problems -which fortunately worked out well. Right now, we are dealing with something more important than that. In any case, I thanked him for his willingness to work together right now. I hope that in the future we can celebrate many things together.

P1: Can you explain to us how this material is going to be distributed amongst hospitals, healthcare centres and old people's homes?

XP: This material will be shared out. Above all, the big priority will be healthcare professionals. We are going to attend to the needs of the healthcare system, which includes those working in centres and those responsible for taking care of the elderly and people with difficulties. That is the big priority for the masks and thermometers.

P1: These types of gestures by Peter Lim and Valencia CF, as well as other businesses, are very necessary and well received.

XP: They are necessary and welcomed. They go beyond the donation of materials. That donation is fundamental, but it goes beyond that. It's a moral and ethical response. It helps us to grow as a society. I think that an entity with such importance in the region as Valencia CF taking this step is a contribution that goes far beyond the donation of materials itself. It's very important and fundamental right now. It has emotional significance.

P1: What message do you want to send to Valencianistas and to everybody in the region?

XP: First of all, what I have to highlight -as I was told by the president of Valencia CF- is that the players and people at the club who came down with the virus are progressing favourably. That's wonderful news. I want to tell Valencianistas that it's a very difficult moment, in which football has been put on hold. However, we are in a big match now, which we have to win together. Amunt Valencia, and Amunt for all of the effort we will make together to win this.