TOPLINE
Four Swiss Guards, the Vatican soldiers who protect Pope Francis, have tested positive for Covid-19, a diagnosis that comes as Pope Francis, who lost part of a lung when he was younger, and those around him have been reportedly been seen without masks amid a massive surge of coronavirus infections in Italy.
KEY FACTS
The four Swiss Guard tested positive over the weekend after presenting with mild symptoms, and have been isolating while the people they have been in contact with are traced, according to Reuters.
Three other Vatican residents tested positive over the last few weeks, in addition to roughly a dozen Vatican officials who were infected in the early months of the global pandemic, according to the L.A. Times.
Pope Francis has been seen multiple times without a mask, despite losing part of one lung during an illness when he was young.
On Monday Pope Francis met with Australian Cardinal George Pell, both were maskless during the meeting in the Pope’s private study, and last week the Pope socialized with the crowd after his Wednesday general audience, shaking hands with clerics and greeting the faithful, all without wearing a mask, according to the Times.
Some Vatican officials have theorized that Pope Francis’ prior illness causes difficulty breathing, which may be why the Pope chooses not to wear a mask in large spaces – according to Reuters he has worn one when traveling in a car between venues.
Italian health experts met Monday to discuss nationwide restrictions meant to target the recent surge of infections, including a possible ban on private parties and restricting hours of operation for bars and restaurants, according to the Guardian.
KEY BACKGROUND
Italy is seeing a sharp spike in infections, and hospitalizations, though deaths from the virus are much lower than they were earlier this year. The Lazio region around the Vatican has seen 911 people hospitalized due to the virus, 69 of whom are in intensive care, more hospitalizations than any other region. Last week, the Vatican enacted health precautions including mandatory masks even when outside, and enacted social distancing guidelines.
BIG NUMBER
5456. That’s how many new cases of the coronavirus were reported Monday, according to Johns Hopkins, the highest number of cases reported in a single day since March.
TANGENT
Cardinal Pell was recently acquitted of child sex abuse charges in Australia. In 2018 he became the most senior Catholic official to be convicted of child sex abuse, and he served 13 months in prison before being aquitted by Austrailia’s High Court in April 2020, according to CNN.
