FILE PHOTO: Pope Francis sits at St. Peter’s Basilica during an extraordinary “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) blessing – normally given only at Christmas and Easter -, as a response to the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, at the Vatican, March 27, 2020. REUTERS/Yara Nardi/Pool
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican said on Saturday that tests carried out in the residence where Pope Francis lives showed that the 83-year-old pontiff and his closest aides do not have coronavirus.
Tests were made on 170 people in the Vatican and six showed positive, including one who lives in the Santa Marta guesthouse.
“I can confirm that neither the Holy Father nor his closest aides are among these,” spokesman Matteo Bruni said in the Vatican statement.
Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne