Pope Francis on Wednesday asked the faithful “to pray for our Chinese brothers and sisters” who are affected by the “cruel” coronavirus epidemic. “May they find a path to recovery as soon as possible,” he said as the overall number of infections is estimated at over 44,000 on mainland China, with cases in more than 20 countries.
His appeal came during the weekly General Audience in the Paul VI Hall. The Covid-19, as the disease is officially called, has killed more than 1,100 people in China, where it emerged. On Wednesday however, the country reported its lowest number of new cases in almost two weeks, with 2,015 new confirmed cases on Tuesday.
In its latest measure to try to halt the spread, China has said it will stagger the return of children to school. Several provinces have closed schools until the end of February. Pope Francis had already expressed his concern about the coronavirus epidemic on 26 January when he prayed for its victims and its families during the Angelus.
