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CHRISTMAS

Pope to hold Christmas ‘midnight’ mass at 7.30pm due to virus curfew

Pope Francis' traditional Christmas Eve mass will be held two hours earlier than normal to abide by Italy's coronavirus curfew, the Vatican revealed on Thursday.

Published: 10 December 2020 17:34 CET
Pope to hold Christmas 'midnight' mass at 7.30pm due to virus curfew
Pope Francis addressing worshipers in St. Peter's Square in January. AFP

The usual Midnight Mass, normally held from 9:30 pm in St Peter's Basilica on December 24th, will start this time at 7.30pm.

With the ceremony normally lasting around 90 minutes, this will allow time for worshippers to get home before Italy's 10pm nationwide curfew comes into effect.

TIMELINE: How Italy's coronavirus travel rules get stricter towards Christmas

The event normally draws large crowds but the Vatican said attendance at masses celebrated by the pope in December and early January will be very limited due to the need for social distancing.

Italy's government has kept the 10pm-5am curfew rule in place over Christmas and New Year, extending it until 7am on New Year's Day, as it hopes to discourage socialising – and possible virus transmission – over the festive period.

The 83-year-old pontiff, who is rarely seen wearing a mask, was forced to cancel his weekly general audiences with the public in November due to a rise in infections.

Italy remains one of the European countries wosrt hit by the coronavirus, having reported more than 61,700 deaths.

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HEALTH

Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The World Health Organization's European office warned on Tuesday the risk of Covid-19 has not gone away, saying it was still responsible for nearly 1,000 deaths a week in the region. And the real figure may be much higher.

Published: 27 June 2023 13:27 CEST
Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The global health body on May 5 announced that the Covid-19 pandemic was no longer deemed a “global health emergency.”

“Whilst it may not be a global public health emergency, however, Covid-19 has not gone away,” WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge told reporters.

The WHO’s European region comprises 53 countries, including several in central Asia.

“Close to 1,000 new Covid-19 deaths continue to occur across the region every week, and this is an underestimate due to a drop in countries regularly reporting Covid-19 deaths to WHO,” Kluge added, and urged authorities to ensure vaccination coverage of at least 70 percent for vulnerable groups.

Kluge also said estimates showed that one in 30, or some 36 million people, in the region had experienced so called “long Covid” in the last three years, which “remains a complex condition we still know very little about.”

“Unless we develop comprehensive diagnostics and treatment for long Covid, we will never truly recover from the pandemic,” Kluge said, encouraging more research in the area which he called an under-recognised condition.

Most countries in Europe have dropped all Covid safety restrictions but some face mask rules remain in place in certain countries in places like hospitals.

Although Spain announced this week that face masks will no longer be required in certain healthcare settings, including hospitals and pharmacies, with a couple of exceptions.

Sweden will from July 1st remove some of its remaining Covid recommendations for the public, including advice to stay home and avoid close contact with others if you’re ill or have Covid symptoms.

The health body also urged vigilance in the face of a resurgence of mpox, having recorded 22 new cases across the region in May, and the health impact of heat waves.

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