One new positive case of COVID-19 has been reported in Vatican City, the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement Thursday that a Holy See employee has tested positive for the coronavirus. The employee has been in isolation since mid-March, after his wife contracted the virus from an Italian hospital where she works, according to Bruni.
This brings the total number of positive cases in the Vatican to seven. The city-state is surrounded by Rome.
“On this occasion it is useful to clarify that, like all institutions, the various entities and departments of the Holy See and of the Vatican City State continue only in essential, mandatory and indifferent activities,” Bruni said, “clearly adopting to the maximum extent possible the appropriate measures that have already been communicated, which include remote work and shift criteria, in order to safeguard staff health.”