Roma to fund ICU ventilators and beds for Italy coronavirus crisis

Serie A side Roma are to fund three intensive care ventilators and eight beds for a hospital in Rome as the coronavirus crisis deepens in Italy.

The clubs first-team players and coaching staff each donated a day’s salary to take the club’s fundraising campaign to 460,000 euros (£424,000).

As of 20:00 GMT on Friday, Italy’s death toll was 4,032 – surpassing China as the world’s most affected country.

Confirmed cases increased by 627, the most in a single day, to 47,021.

On Tuesday, Roma delivered 13,000 FFP2 masks to hospitals in the city, along with 120 500ml bottles of hand sanitiser. Then on Thursday, the club and charity Roma Cares delivered 8,000 pairs of protective gloves and 2,000 bottles of sanitising hand gel to churches in key parts of the Italian capital – to be redistributed among the vulnerable in their communities.-bbc.com