Pope Francis livestreamed his Sunday address instead of delivering it from the ritual window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican announced on Saturday that the pope would be leading the service via stream as the coronavirus continues to spread through Italy, according to Reuters. The pontiff was tested last week for the disease after coming down with flu-like symptoms but was found to only have a cold.
Francis will also hold Wednesday’s general audience via livestream, as well. Both the general audience and the pope’s Sunday service usually attract crowds of tens of thousands of people, but the Vatican is taking steps to reduce the risk of the coronavirus to the 83-year-old head of the Catholic Church.
The illness, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December, has continued to spread throughout Italy despite efforts to contain the virus. On Sunday, Italy’s government took the extraordinary step of locking down the country’s northern region and restricting the movement of nearly a quarter of Italian citizens.
“We are facing an emergency,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in a news conference announcing the move. “This is the moment of self-responsibility.”
All schools in Italy have been closed, and the Italian government has not said how long the emergency measure will remain in place. On Saturday, Italy had more than 5,800 cases of the coronavirus, including 233 fatalities.
