Pope Francis Reportedly Tests Negative For Coronavirus After Showing Symptoms

Pope Francis has reportedly tested negative to coronavirus, some days after he cancelled all public engagements for being ill shortly after he was seen in physical contact with Coronavirus patients on Ash Wednesday.

The Pope during Ash Wednesday was shaking hands with worshippers at the St Peter’s Square in the Vatican city, Italy.

He was later reported to have fallen ill prompting the cancellation of a planned mass in Rome, just as coronavirus continues to spread across Italy.

The 83-year-old pontiff went through a test after he was reported to have shown symptoms of flu such as cough, fever, chills and sore throat.

According to the Italian news outlet, the results came back as negative, though Matteo Bruni, the Vatican City spokesperson, has not commented on the issue.

In Italy, the death toll from the zoonotic disease has risen to 52, with the number of confirmed cases in the country hitting 2036, the highest reported so far outside of Asia.

So far, coronavirus has been confirmed in 77 countries across the world including Nigeria, United States, Canada, Singapore, Spain, Vietnam, Germany, UAE, France, Japan, Thailand, and Russia.

As of March 3, there are 91,347 Coronavirus cases, 3,120 deaths and 48,284 recovered patients worldwide.