Coronavirus: the Vatican closes its doors

Text by: RFI Follow

The coronavirus epidemic continues in Italy and affects the whole country. In Rome, The Vatican, where at least one case of contagion has been identified, the doors are closed to prevent the spread of the virus.

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From our Vatican correspondent, Eric Sénanque

They were no longer very numerous, but the few tourists still in Rome must now admire Saint Peter's Basilica from the outside; the Vatican is in tune with an Italy cut off from the world . Both the square and the basilica are now closed to the public until at least April 3. Only a few faithful who want to meditate are allowed to enter the largest church in the world.

Pope no longer goes out in public

At the Vatican museums, which welcome 6 million visitors a year, it's also closed, just like at the post office or in the bookstores in St. Peter's Square. Inside the Vatican City only the supermarket still works but the entrances are tightly controlled. The employees' canteen will close its doors on Wednesday and a meal delivery service will be set up. Many employees from the smallest state in the world have been sent home and in the various offices, they distribute hydroalcoholic gel and the elevators only take one person at a time.

Since Sunday, the Pope no longer goes out in public, his angels and audiences are carried out from the library of the Apostolic Palace, retransmitted in streaming so as not to attract crowds. Faced with the business crisis, the Vatican, one of Rome's largest property owners, said on Tuesday that it was ready to temporarily reduce rents.

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St. Peter's Square in Rome, unusually deserted due to the arrangements made by the government of Giuseppe Conte which extended the confinement to the whole territory, on March 9, 2020. REUTERS / Guglielmo Mangiapane

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