Rome Newsroom, Jun 12, 2020 / 08:00 am
As Italy moves into a new phase of its lockdown reopening, the Diocese of Rome has announced that it will offer free COVID-19 antibody testing for all priests ministering amid the pandemic.
The serology tests for priests will be made possible by a partnership between the diocese and Rome's Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases, the first research center in Europe to isolate the DNA sequence of COVID-19.
Testing for antibodies after one has been infected and recovered from COVID-19 could indicate immunity from the coronavirus. However, the World Health Organization has advised that there is a lack of evidence to indicate whether the presence of antibodies is enough to prevent reinfection.
A further benefit of COVID-19 antibody testing is eligibility to donate plasma that could be used to aid COVID-19 patients being treated in intensive care units.