Month: April 2021

On Easter Sunday, Pope Francis plans to celebrate one of the highest feasts in the Church year for the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, followed by the blessing “Urbi et Orbi”. The head of the Catholic Church will once again have to celebrate the festivities under Corona conditions. The crowds of pilgrims who came to the Vatican and the Italian capital of Rome in the past failed to show up again this year. Service in St. Peter’s BasilicaBefore the pandemic, Easter Sunday Mass was often celebrated in St.…

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Most of the churches are in silent mode. Easter services are limited to few faithful, who can attend the easter celebrations. Restaurants are closed. Family members who aren’t already under the same roof will not be gathering for a meal of ham or lamb, scalloped potatoes and spring vegetables. This Easter Sunday is very different than any we have experienced in living memory. The novel coronavirus pandemic has shut down cities, economies and in-person social interaction around the world and casts a shadow more in keeping with the darkness of…

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Pope Francis celebrated the Easter Vigil on Saturday under Corona conditions, as he did last year. Because of the restrictions in place in Italy, the Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica was brought forward to 7:30 p.m., as a curfew is in effect from 10 p.m., as it has been for months. The whole of Italy is also considered a Red Zone with the strictest Corona rules over the Easter period from April 3 to 5. Most of the same restrictions apply in the Vatican City State as in the Italian…

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More than 130.24 million people worldwide have been confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus. This was the result of a Reuters count based on official data on Saturday. More than 2.97 million people died in connection with the virus. The U.S. has the highest numbers, with more than 30.65 million cases of infection and more than 554,000 deaths. Brazil is in second place with more than 12.9 million infections and more than 328,000 deaths, ahead of India, where about 12.4 million people have been confirmed infected and more than 164,000…

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has relaxed its recommendations for fully vaccinated individuals with travel in mind. The agency published new guidelines on Friday stating that it again considers domestic and international travel acceptable for these people. Fully vaccinated individuals can travel safely within the U.S., it said. But they should continue to follow precautions while doing so: Wear masks, keep their distance from others and wash or disinfect their hands as often as possible. For domestic travel, corona testing before or after is not mandatory for those…

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