Virus penetrates Vatican guard as infections rise; NFL juggles schedule after positive tests
Four Swiss Guards have tested positive for coronavirus and were showing symptoms, the Vatican said Monday, as the surge in infections in surrounding Italy penetrates the Vatican walls.
The Swiss Guards, the world’s oldest standing army, provide ceremonial guard duty during papal Masses, man the Vatican gates and help protect the 83-year-old Pope Francis.
Meanwhile, the NFL has juggled its regular-season schedule due to coronavirus outbreaks with the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots.
Nine teams are being affected, some over a period of weeks through Nov. 22: New England, Tennessee, Denver, Buffalo, Kansas City, Miami, the Los Angeles Chargers, New York Jets and Jacksonville.
Whatever wiggle room the NFL had in compiling the schedule released in the spring pretty much is gone. Further outbreaks — or the continuance of the ones in Nashville and Foxborough — will lead to more disturbances. But given the nature of the sport and the inability to play games too close together on any regular basis, the league is now cornered.
Here’s an update on all developments. Scroll or swipe further for in-depth coverage.
- President Donald Trump on Sunday declared he was ready to return to the campaign trail despite unanswered questions about his health on the eve of a Florida rally meant to kick off the stretch run before Election Day.
- For the second day in a row, Iran shattered its single-day record for new deaths and infections from the coronavirus, with 272 people confirmed dead among more than 4,200 new cases on Monday.
- A leader of protests against new coronavirus restrictions in Brooklyn has been arrested on charges of inciting people to riot and unlawful imprisonment of a journalist who was chased and trapped by a crowd, police said.
- Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said that he will quarantine after a member of his security detail who drove with his family the day before later tested positive for COVID-19. Beshear and his family show no symptoms.
- The British government is set to announce new restrictions Monday on business and socializing in major northern England cities with high infection rates. But pubs, restaurants and other businesses are pushing back, arguing that they are not to blame for a resurgent outbreak.
- European Union countries are getting ready to adopt a common traffic light system to coordinate traveling across the 27-nation bloc, but a return to a full freedom of movement in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic remains far from reach.
- An increase in positive test cases at Baylor has postponed the school’s college football game against Oklahoma State. There have been 27 FBS games postponed or cancelled since Aug. 26, but this is the first Big 12 Conference game to be rescheduled.
For more summaries and full reports, select from the articles below. Scroll further for the latest virus numbers.
