Cardinal Bassetti discharged from hospital after the battle with COVID-19

On Thursday, Italian cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti was discharged from the Santa Maria della Misericordia hospital in Perugia, where he holds the role of archbishop, after spending about 20 days there fighting the COVID coronavirus.

The president of the Italian Bishops' Conference, Bassetti is among the highest officials of the Catholic Church to contract the coronavirus and recover, including the Pope's Vicar of Rome, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, and Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo, Archbishop of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and president of the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).

Philippine Cardinal Luis Tagle, head of the Vatican department for the evangelization of peoples, also tested positive, but asymptomatic.

In a message released on his release from the hospital, Bassetti thanked the Santa Maria della Misericordia hospital for the treatment, saying: "In these days that have seen me go through the suffering of the contagion with COVID-19, I was able to touch hand in hand humanity, competence and care provided every day, with tireless concern, by all personnel, healthcare and otherwise. "

"Doctors, nurses, administrators: each of them is committed in their own territory to guarantee the best welcome, care and accompaniment for each patient, recognized in the vulnerability of the sick and never abandoned to anguish and pain," he said. .

Bassetti said he will continue to pray for the hospital staff and that he "will carry them in his heart" and thanked them for their "tireless work" to save as many lives as possible.

He also offered prayers for all patients who are still sick and fighting for their lives, saying that he leaves them with a message of comfort and a plea to "remain united in God's hope and love, the Lord never abandons us. , but he holds us in his arms. "

"I continue to recommend that everyone persevere in prayer for those who suffer and live in situations of pain," he said.

Bassetti was hospitalized in late October after testing positive for COVID-19, where he was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia and subsequent respiratory failure. On November 3 he was transferred to intensive care, where there was a brief scare as his condition began to deteriorate. However, after a few days he started to show improvements and was moved out of the ICU on 10 November.

Before returning to his home in the archiepiscopal residence of Perugia, Bassetti, in the next few days, will move to the Gemelli hospital in Rome for a period of rest and recovery. How long it should stay has not yet been specified.

Mons. Stefano Russi, general secretary of the CEI, in a statement also expressed his gratitude for Bassetti's recovery, expressing “joy for the constant progress of his health conditions. The Italian bishops and faithful are close to him in his convalescence at Gemelli, where he is awaited with great affection ”.

On November 18, the day before Bassetti's discharge, Pope Francis for the second time called the auxiliary bishop of Perugia, Marco Salvi, who had just come out of quarantine after being asymptomatically positive for COVID-19, to check Bassetti's condition.

According to Salvi, during the call, which was the pope's second in less than 10 days, the pope first asked about his health "after the unwanted guest, the coronavirus, left my body."

"Then he asked for an update on the state of health of our parish priest Gualtiero and I reassured him that everything is going well with the help of God and the health workers who take care of him", said Salvi , noting that he also told the pope of Bassetti's plans to come to Gemelli for his recovery.

"I told the Holy Father that at Gemelli our cardinal will feel at home, heartened by the closeness of His Holiness", said Salvi, adding that he had transmitted the Pope's personal greeting to Bassetti, who "was very moved by the constant attention and concern of the Holy Father's concern for him “.

According to the diocesan weekly La Voce, Bassetti had initially hoped to return to his home at the archbishop's residence after being discharged, but decided to go to Gemelli out of prudence.

In commenting on his decision to a collaborator, La Voce reports, Bassetti said he "shared 15 days of this difficult trial with the sick in Umbria, comforting each other, without ever losing hope of healing with the help of the Lord and of the Blessed. Virgin Mary."

“In the suffering I shared the atmosphere of a family, that of the hospital in our city, that family that God gave me to help me live this serious illness with serenity. In this family I have received adequate care and I thank all those who have helped me “.

Speaking of his diocesan community, Bassetti said that while he will be away from the archdiocese for some time, he is certain "to always have him in my heart as you have always had me in yours".

As of November 19, Italy recorded 34.283 new coronavirus cases and 753 deaths in 24 hours: the second consecutive day in which coronavirus-related deaths amounted to 700. So far, about 1.272.352 people have tested positive for COVID-19 since the beginning of the epidemic in Italy, with a total of 743.168 currently infected.