Pope Francis has cancelled official audiences for a second day in a row after being taken ill.

The Vatican said the 83-year-old pontiff celebrated morning Mass as usual and greeted participants at the end. He planned to keep his private meeting schedule as planned, but decided to cancel the official audiences.

The Vatican refused to reveal what he has come down with, but he was coughing and blowing his nose during Ash Wednesday Mass this week.

And on Thursday he canceled a planned trip across town to celebrate Mass with Rome priests.

His illness comes amid an outbreak of the coronavirus, which has infected 650 people in Italy and caused disruption across the north of the country. Rome had three cases, but all three recovered.

On Thursday Vatican officials refused to comment on whether Pope Francis has been tested for coronavirus, confirming only that the pontiff skipped a planned Mass for the start of Lent due to a slight illness.

Source: The Teregraph