VATICAN (CNS): “Be careful, do not sing ‘Victory!’ yet, do not celebrate victory too soon! It remains necessary to follow the rules in force carefully because they are rules that help us to prevent the virus from gaining ground,” Pope Francis said June 7 after reciting the Angelus prayer from the window of the Apostolic Palace.
The pope prayed for people in countries where the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is still causing a huge number of deaths and he cautioned people in Italy to continue to be careful and follow health precautions.
He also greeted the few hundred visitors gathered in St. Peter’s Square, maintaining social distancing with many wearing masks.
Pope Francis said that seeing people in the square was a sign that “the acute phase” of the pandemic in Italy was over, which had led to the gradual easing of restrictive measures.
However, the pope cautioned everyone to continue to be careful.
“Thanks be to God we are coming out of the epicentre stronger, but always with the rules given the authorities give us,” he said.
The Vatican press office had announced the evening before that the last Vatican employee who had tested positive for the coronavirus was now testing negative. A total of 12 cases had been reported among Vatican employees since late February. None died.
Pope Francis reminded people that “the virus continues to claim many victims” in other countries.
“I wish to express my closeness to those populations, to the sick and their families, and to all those who care for them. With our prayer, let us be close to them,” the pope said.
The pandemic is claiming large numbers of victims in the United States and other countries in Central, South and North America, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) on June 6.
Some countries were also seeing upticks in Covid-19 cases as lockdowns eased, which meant people had to continue to follow precautions, Margaret Harris, a WHO spokesperson said from Geneva.
