Pope reportedly tests negative after Vatican scare

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis was reported on Thursday to have tested negative for the novel coronavirus after a person in his residence was said to have contacted Covid-19. Several

Italian

newspapers with reputable sources in the Vatican said the Italian clergyman who got sick had lived for years in the pope’s Saint Martha’s residence.


The daily La Stampa said the unnamed person has been hospitalised in

Rome

and that his office has been disinfected. The newspaper Il Messaggero later reported that the pope himself was tested for the virus and came out clean.

The 83-year-old pontiff has remained largely secluded at his residence since coming down with a cold last month