Vatican reports first Coronavirus case

06 Mar, 2020

First positive Coronavirus case in Vatican City.

The Vatican announced on 6 March that a patient being treated by its health services has tested positive for Coronavirus.

The discovery was made on 5 March, according to Holy See spokesman Matteo Bruni, who said that outpatient services in Vatican clinics have been suspended for sanitation purposes.

Bruni said emergency services will continue to operate in the tiny sovereign state, adding that the Vatican had informed Italian health authorities.

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The news comes several days after Rome daily newspaper Il Messaggero reported that Pope Francis, suffering from a bad cold, tested negative for Coronavirus.

The Holy See dismissed the pontiff's illness as a “mild indisposition”.