Five people who were in close contact with this person are in a precautionary quarantine, according to the Holy See Press Office.
The Italian Minister of Cultural Heritage and Tourism Dario Franceschini called for more programs to be televised in Italy featuring music, theater, art, and cinema following the "necessary and painful choice" to close down all performances and museums in the country. He also encouraged artists to stream performances on their social networks.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="it" dir="ltr">Da oggi in tutta Italia saranno chiusi cinema, teatri, concerti, musei. Una scelta necessaria e dolorosa. Ma la <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cultura?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#cultura</a> può arrivare nelle case. Chiedo alle tv di programmare musica, teatro, cinema, arte e a tutti gli operatori culturali di usare al massimo i loro social e siti.</p>— Dario Franceschini (@dariofrance) <a href="https://twitter.com/dariofrance/status/1236571809182605312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Pope Francis likewise ordered that his private daily Masses offered at his Vatican City residence in Casa Santa Marta be transmitted over live video streaming by Vatican Media, a Vatican spokesman told journalists.
This video broadcast will "allow those who wish to follow the celebrations united in prayer with the Bishop of Rome," Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni said.
The Diocese of Rome has called on all Catholics in Rome to observe a day of fasting and prayer for the victims of coronavirus on March 11, and invited people to tune into a special televised Mass.