The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, fainted shortly after 3 p.m. this Wednesday during an event at the Faculty of Science and Technology of Universidade Nova (FCT-UN), in Costa de Caparica, and was transported to Hospital de Santa Cruz , in Carnaxide, in the municipality of Oeiras.
An official source from the Presidency of the Republic said that the PR “had his period after visiting the Faculty of Science and Technology of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa and went to the Hospital de Santa Cruz as a precaution.” Belém says he will pass on “more information” as soon as there are more developments.
In October 2019, Marcelo had surgery at Hospital de Santa Cruz, where he underwent cardiac catheterization.
‘He called me from the ambulance’
The president’s trip to the FCT-UN was not previously disclosed to the media. Marcelo was accompanied by the Minister of Science, Elvira Fortunato.
It’s not the first time PR has passed out at a public event. In June 2018, he collapsed after visiting the Bom Jesus Sanctuary in Braga, later explaining that he was dehydrated due to food poisoning.
“Happens to very good people”
On December 15, 2021, Marcelo had surgery on two inguinal hernias at the Hospital das Forças Armadas.
At 4:10 pm, the President’s Chief of Staff, Fernando Frutuoso de Melo, confirmed to journalists at the door of Hospital de Santa Cruz that Marcelo “passed out” but regained consciousness while still in the ambulance and even called him. “He still called me in the ambulance” and is “in a good mood”, as he did not want to cancel the afternoon’s agenda.
The president, he added, will remain in hospital for the next few hours “to do tests”. Frutuoso de Melo tried to play down the drama: “It’s something that happens to very good people.”
According to him, the president of the republic passed out because of the “heat” or “because he hadn’t had lunch” or because of a “heavy schedule”.
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Source: DN
