Vatican: no case of coronavirus among residents

The Vatican said on Saturday that the city state no longer has any active positive cases among employees, after a twelfth person had proven positive in early May.

According to the director of the Holy See press office, Matteo Bruni, from June 6th there are no more cases of coronavirus among Vatican and Holy See employees.

"This morning, the last person reported as sick in the past few weeks also tested negative for COVID-19," said Bruni. "As of today, there are no cases of coronavirus positivity among employees of the Holy See and Vatican City State."

The Vatican found its first confirmed case of coronavirus on March 6. In early May, Bruni reported that a twelfth positive employee case had been confirmed.

The person, said Bruni at the time, had worked remotely since the beginning of March and had isolated himself when the symptoms developed.

In late March, the Vatican said it had tested 170 Holy See employees for coronavirus, all of which resulted negative, and that Pope Francis and those who worked closest to him did not have the virus.

After three months of closure, the Vatican Museums were reopened to the public on June 1st. Advance booking is required and visitors must wear masks and have the temperature checked at the entrance.

The opening took place only two days before Italy reopened its borders to European visitors, revoking the requirement to quarantine for 14 days on arrival.

St. Peter's Basilica was reopened to visitors on May 18 after receiving thorough cleaning and sanitation. Public masses resumed in Italy on the same day under strict conditions.

Visitors to the basilica must have their temperature checked and wear a mask.

Italy has recorded a total of over 234.000 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus since the end of February and over 33.000 people have died.

As of June 5, there were nearly 37.000 active positive cases in the country, with less than 3.000 in the Rome region of Lazio.

According to the John Hopkins University coronavirus dashboard, 395.703 people died from the worldwide pandemic