The Vatican secretary of state and his deputy have both tested positive for the coronavirus, Vatican officials said Tuesday.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin serves as the Vatican’s secretary of state and the pope’s No. 2.. the AP reports sources quoting he has “very light” symptoms, while Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra is asymptomatic, officials said.
There was no immediate comment on their last contact with Pope Francis. It wasn’t clear if Francis has received a booster shot..
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The fast-moving omicron variant may cause less severe disease on average, but COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are climbing and modelers forecast 50,000 to 300,000 more Americans could die by the time the wave subsides in mid-March.
The seven-day rolling average for daily new COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. has been trending upward since mid-November, reaching nearly 1,700 on Jan. 17 — still below the peak of 3,300 in January 2021. COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents started rising slightly two weeks ago, although still at a rate 10 times less than last year before most residents were vaccinated.
— Read on apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-omicron-covid-19-deaths-08f8db29985b992d5ef98ccfa1459eb7
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