Above all, Pope Francis used yesterday’s Angelus prayer to thank the health workers after two years of the corona pandemic. After his midday prayer on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square, he called for applause for all those who have given particular support to the sick during this time and are still supporting them now.
“No one saves themselves,” the Holy Father recalled, recounting the conversation with a doctor who held the hand of a man dying of Covid-19 to accompany him on the last journey.
“We should say a big thank you to these people every day,” said the Pope in his appreciation of doctors, nurses and volunteers. “Doctors, nurses and orderlies are acting heroically in the pandemic.” Francis also remembered the victims of natural disasters in Madagascar and Brazil.
Yesterday, Sunday, the “Second National Day of Health Workers” was celebrated in Italy. The aim was to recognize the work of all those who have been involved in the healthcare sector since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. February 20th is the day on which exactly two years ago the first corona infection was detected in a patient in Italy.
The pandemic has hit the country massively, so far ten million corona infections have been registered. There were also 150,000 fatalities and an economic slump not seen since 1945.
The state of emergency ends
Today, two years later, there is cautious optimism: after a massive vaccination campaign with a vaccination rate of 91 percent of the population, Italy was hit hard by the omicron variant in December and January, but it has since declined again and has proven to be much less harmful proved to be the Delta variant.
In view of the sharp drop in the number of infections, the corona measures are being relaxed: And on March 31, the state of emergency that has been in force for two years ends.
Source: Nachrichten
