On Tuesday, Pope Francis advised catholic priests to "have the courage” to go out and help those sick with coronavirus during a mass in Vatican City.
So far, Italy has faced over 9,000 cases and 463 deaths and has been placed on a nationwide lock-down.
One person inside Vatican City has tested positive for the virus and five people who came into contact with that individual are under precautionary quarantine.
During the live-streamed Mass, the St. Peter’s Square was almost empty with just a few dozen people strolling around, most of them without masks on Tuesday.
The pontiff, who was alone at the Casa Santa Marta chapel in Vatican City said, “Let us pray to the Lord also for our priests, that they may have the courage to go out and go to the sick people bringing the strength of God’s word and the Eucharist and accompany the health workers and volunteers in this work that they are doing,”
However, The Italian government has asked for people not to travel if they can avoid it and to avoid contact with the sick.
On Monday, The Italian government extended nationwide restrictions on movement, and contact among personnel from the hard-hit northern regions to the rest of the country which affected over 60 million inhabitants.
These restrictions included checkpoints on roads and at railroad stations to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Italy the epicenter of the European virus outbreak is set to endure with these restrictions until April 3 2020.
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