The English author of the Guardian newspaper, Emma John, believes that the current community initiatives of sports clubs and federations to transform their stadiums into makeshift hospitals, as part of efforts to combat the Corona virus epidemic, is a rare moment that reflects the appreciation due to all health care workers, who are in the ranks The first in facing the virus, and that these will be living memories that deserve to remain a source of inspiration in the future, indicating that a century has passed since the last time the stadiums were used in hospitals.
The author expects more sports clubs to respond to current social initiatives, whether by providing medical equipment or their medical teams, or even providing a medical family at their headquarters, and she says: "The great potential, financial wealth, and technical resources that sports clubs have, must be harnessed for national efforts, even Teams of car companies have turned to producing respirators, we need more creativity. "
And Emma John tells in her article, published yesterday, that in the final months of World War I, a ship arrived in Britain from the United States, and the health situation there was disastrous, due to the (flu) outbreak during their transatlantic flight, which quickly turned into inflammation Acute pulmonary.
She adds that after the ship docked, the doctor at the Red Cross Hospital, Guildar, took matters into hand over the next 12 weeks in an attempt to treat the sick, but things developed, and the hospital no longer had a vacancy, so she took advantage of the Old Trafford amphitheater at the city's cricket ground , Which was not used by the Lancashire players, and all rooms, including lockers, meeting rooms, and even the roof were used.
The writer praised the roles played by the clubs, and said that the President Cardiff Stadium had been transferred to a field hospital with a capacity of 2000 beds, that Wembley Stadium next to the headquarters of the England national football team would switch to the headquarters of additional wards, and that Manchester City donated the use of the Etihad Stadium, as a training headquarters Medical workers fighting the disease, in a neighborhood Chelsea club decided to provide accommodation for medical personnel.
And Emma John pointed out that Twickenham Stadium, where the west wing terraces were full of hospital beds during World War II in preparation for a chemical attack on the capital London, did not stand idly by in the current crisis, and was ready to provide logistical support.