King and Queen of Spain preside over a State Tribute to the victims of Covid-19

USPA NEWS - The King and Queen of Spain on Friday presided over a State Tribute to the victims of Covid-19 and in recognition of health personnel. The tribute, entitled 'An applause for the memory', was held in the Plaza de la Armería of the Royal Palace of Madrid, once again recognized the work of the health workers and highlighted the importance of science and research to eradicate the coronavirus pandemic Covid-19.

The III Victims of Covid-19 Memorial was a solemn act in which King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia wanted to express to the families of the deceased their pain and their gratitude for their work and for their total dedication. The tribute began with the interpretation of the National Anthem and the interventions of the Area Head of the Division of Biological Products, Advanced Therapies and Biotechnology of the AEMPS and the Director General of Health and Food Safety of the European Commission.

Subsequently, the King presented the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit to four relatives of those killed by Covid-19 on behalf of the decorated: the family of María Amparo Gadea Rodrigo, head pharmacist in Alcázar de San Juan (Ciudad Real); to the family of Francisco Andrés Beltrán Baldoví, family doctor, who dedicated the last years of his professional career to primary care medicine at the Torrent health center (Valencia); to the family of Alfredo Díaz Delgado, who throughout his life worked in the same pharmacy in a neighborhood of Cádiz; and to the family of Mercedes Armero Barranco, who always had a vocation to help others (she wanted to go on missions) and spent her entire professional life at the Virgen de Arrixaca University Hospital (Murcia).

Next, Felipe VI placed a flower crown next to the cauldron, and a minute of silence was observed. Subsequently, the King addressed a few words in which he stressed that "for the third time we meet in this Plaza de la Armería of the Royal Palace of Madrid to remember all the people who lost their lives due to Covid-19." He recalled the tribute of 2020, at a time "in which society had given, as I pointed out at the time, a lesson of immense value and Spain had shown its best spirit. And we did it a year later: we met in 2021, when hope accompanied us that implied the advances in the area of medicine.” He also said that “this morning all the gestures and emotions of that time return to our memory and, with enormous significance, the testimonies of those years.”

At the end of the speech, the song 'Fight of Giants', by the late Spanish composer and singer Antonio Vega, was performed by Alice Wonder, while a video with images was projected. After the tribute, the King and Queen moved to the Hall of Columns of the Royal Palace, where they held a meeting with the relatives of the deceased.

During the tribute, the King and Queen were accompanied by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and by the President of the Congress of Deputies, Maritxell Batet; the president of the Senate, Ander Gil; members of the Government; presidents of the Government Councils of the Autonomous Communities; the head of the opposition, Alberto Nuñez Fejióo; and the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, among other authorities.