Barcelona donates 30,000 masks to help fight coronavirus

Barcelona's Lionel Messi, second right, celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal from the penalty spot during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, March 7, 2020. (Joan Monfort/AP)

BARCELONA, Spain — Barcelona has delivered 30,000 masks to the Catalonia government to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, the club said Saturday.

The masks were made in China and donated by insurance company Taiping, a regional partner of the club.

Barcelona said the “daily use” masks will be distributed to nursing homes.

The club added it is working through its foundation “to do as much as possible to help with this crisis, both locally and internationally.”

“The club has put itself at the service of the health authorities to help to fulfil and enforce all its instructions, recommendations and orders to combat contagion of the virus and alleviate its effects as much as possible,” it said in a statement.

Barcelona on Thursday reduced the salaries of its players because of the coronavirus crisis.

Spain, where stay-at-home restrictions have been in place for nearly two weeks, reported 832 more deaths on Saturday, its highest daily count yet, bringing its total to 5,690. Another 8,000 confirmed infections pushed that count above 72,000.

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