By Verghese V Joseph –
Vatican: In response to the threat of the Covid-19 coronavirus, Vatican City authorities have set in place measures to prevent it from spreading further.
In coordination with the Italian Authorities, the Holy See Office too has taken steps today to avoid the spread of Covid-19 in the Dicasteries and other entities of the Holy See or connected to it and in the Governorate of the City of Vatican.
These measures include the precautionary closure, until April 3, 2020, of the Vatican Museums, the Excavation Office, the Museum of the Pontifical Villas and the museum centers of the pontifical basilicas.
On this occasion, the Holy See Office reiterated that to date a single case of positivity to Covid-19 has been confirmed by an external subject who had gone to the Health and Hygiene Director’s surgeries for a pre-employment medical examination and that the five people who had had close contact with this are in precautionary quarantine.
Holy Father Prays For Affected People
Pope Francis too prayed for those affected by coronavirus and assured his closeness in prayer to those affected by the current coronavirus epidemic. Speaking from the Library of the Apostolic Palace on Sunday, Pope Francis assured “those suffering from the current coronavirus epidemic and to all those who are caring for them” of his prayers.
The Pope prayed his Sunday Angelus from the Apostolic Palace, rather than from the balcony in St Peter’s Square, at the request of Italian authorities. The notice came from the Holy See Press office on Friday, who explained that such measures were necessary in order to “avoid the risk of the spread of the COVID-19”, due to the large groups that gather at security checks for access to the Square.
The Pope explained that he dedicated much thought to those suffering from this crisis during his retreat over the past week. “I unite myself to my brothers Bishops in encouraging the faithful to live this difficult moment with the strength of the faith, the certainty of hope and the ardour of charity”, he said.
Covid-19 Cases Cross 1 Lakh
According to World Health Organization (WHO), the global number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has surpassed 1,00,000 as of today. The sudden increases of cases in Italy, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Korea are deeply concerning. There are now cases linked to Iran in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Oman, along with cases linked to Italy in Algeria, Austria, Croatia, Germany, Spain and Switzerland.
“As we mark this sombre moment, the World Health Organization reminds all countries and communities that the spread of this virus can be significantly slowed or even reversed through the implementation of robust containment and control activities”, the UN agency said in a statement.
WHO urged countries to continue efforts that have been effective in limiting the number of cases and slowing the spread of the virus, first identified in Wuhan, China, last December.
UN Humanitarian Chief Mark Lowcock last week released US$15 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help fund global efforts to contain the COVID-19 virus.
The announcement came as the World Health Organization (WHO) upgraded the global risk of the coronavirus outbreak to “very high” – its top level of risk assessment. The WHO has said there is still a chance of containing the virus if its chain of transmission is broken.
The UN funding has been released to the WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). It will fund essential activities including monitoring the spread of the virus, investigating cases, and the operation of national laboratories.
The WHO has called for US$675 million to fund the fight against coronavirus. There is a window of opportunity to contain the spread of the virus if countries take robust measures to detect cases early, isolate and care for patients, and trace contacts.