Coronavirus latest: Does the pope have coronavirus? Pope Francis sick
March 2, 2020
There are more than 89,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 68 countries. China, where the virus originated, has the highest number of infected and deaths though COVID-19 has begun spreading quicker outside the Asian country, particularly in Italy.
Does the pope have coronavirus?
Italy has the highest number of confirmed cases of any European country with 1,694.
Of those, 140 people are in a serious condition while 83 have recovered from the virus.
In total, 34 people have died as a result of COVID-19 in Italy.
Some 12 regions in Italy have had confirmed cases of the virus, the latest region to announce a case was Puglia in the south.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has said that the 50,000 affected residents in the northern region of Lombardy, where 10 small towns have been locked down, could remain so for weeks.
In these towns, regional authorities have ordered gathering spots, such as bars, restaurants, cinemas and discos to close while schools have also shut.
The Lazio region where Rome is has no more confirmed cases of coronavirus after three people there recovered.
Pope Francis, 83, fell ill and cancelled events in the basilica last Thursday and was forced to cancel all official audiences for a second day on Friday.
During an afternoon Ash Wednesday service in Rome, the pope appeared to have a cold and was blowing his nose, coughing and speaking with a hoarse voice.
The pontiff had shown solidarity with coronavirus sufferers during his service when he said: “I wish, again, to express my closeness to those who are ill with coronavirus and to health-care workers who are caring for them.”
Pope Francis carried out the rest of his Thursday schedule in his residence and continued to do so on Friday.
A Vatican spokesman said last Thursday: “Because of a slight indisposition, he preferred to stay inside Santa Marta.
“All other commitments will go ahead regularly.”
The pope has not specifically met with coronavirus sufferers but he shook hands with people in the front row during the service.
He also kissed a baby during his popemobile spin through St Peter’s Square and greeted visiting bishops, but the clergy members appeared to refrain from kissing his ring or embracing him as they normally would.
On Friday, spokesman Matteo Bruni said the pope had delivered early morning Mass as customary in the chapel of the Santa Marta guest house where he lives and greeted those who attended.
Mr Bruni said: "But he thought it was best to postpone today's official audiences.
"The meetings scheduled to take place in Santa Marta will take place regularly."
He added that the pope was still feeling "slightly unwell".
Pope Francis was due to meet executives from Microsoft Corp, International Business Machines Corp, and other technology companies last Friday.
His speech to them from the Apostolic Palace was going to be streamed to participants of a conference in Rome on ethics in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
A conference on the world economy due to take place in Italy later this month with Pope Francis taking part has been postponed until November because of the coronavirus outbreak, organisers said on Sunday.
A spokesman said the postponement had nothing to do with the fact that the pope is suffering from a cold and was forced to skip a week-long Lent retreat near Rome.
No comments:
Post a Comment