Portuguese officials have defended Cristiano Ronaldo after he left home and was seen training with other people at a soccer pitch amid a national lockdown to stem the coronavirus outbreak.
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The incident occurred on the island of Madeira, Ronaldo's birthplace. He was observed shooting a ball at a goal with someone playing goalkeeper, along with two other people. They all appeared to be several meters apart.
"Cristiano did solely a few minutes of exercise and from that comes no harm to the world," Madeira regional health authority spokesman Carlos Ramos said on Friday.
"All citizens can go out and do some physical exercise as long as they do not gather in big groups and keep their distance from other people they may encounter while exercising.
"So I think that Cristiano did only what we have seen."
Portugal has been under a state of emergency for three weeks.
People are confined to their homes, but they can leave to exercise individually.
The country has more than 15,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 435 deaths.
Australian Associated Press
