2 close aides of Pope Francis test positive for COVID-19, Vatican says

Jan 18, 2022 9:49 PM PHT

Reuters

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2 close aides of Pope Francis test positive for COVID-19, Vatican says

FILE PHOTO: Pope Francis shakes hands with Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, appointed Substitute for General Affairs of the Vatican's Secretariat of State, during a meeting at the Vatican August 17, 2018. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY/File Photo

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Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who is secretary of state, has slight symptoms, and the deputy secretary of state, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, has no symptoms, says the Vatican spokesman

VATICAN CITY – The second and third ranking Vatican officials under Pope Francis have tested positive for COVID-19, the Vatican said on Tuesday, January 18.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who is secretary of state, had slight symptoms, and the deputy secretary of state, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, had no symptoms, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

He said both Parolin, 67, an Italian, and Pena Parra, 61, who is Venezuelan, had self-isolated in their residences in the Vatican.

The two meet with the Pope regularly but it was not clear when their last meetings with the 85-year-old pontiff took
place.

The Vatican has required its employees, most of whom live in Italy, to be fully vaccinated.

Italy, which surrounds the tiny and sovereign Vatican City, reported 83,403 COVID-19 related cases on Monday against 149,512 the day before, while the number of deaths rose to 287 from 248.