The Latest: Pope delivers catechism from private library

The Latest on the coronavirus outbreak sweeping the globe:

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Pope Francis held his weekly general audience in his private library as the Vatican implemented Italy’s drastic coronavirus lockdown measures and barred the general public from St. Peter’s Square and took precautions to limit the spread of infections in the tiny city-state.

Francis sent out special prayers for prisoners, the sick and hospital personnel caring for them, delivering his weekly catechism lesson via livestream rather than in person. He was surrounded by a handful of priest translators who took turns delivering his comments in a variety of languages, making sure to sit a meter (yard) apart.

Usually the pope’s weekly Wednesday audience is a boisterous affair that fills St. Peter’s or the Vatican auditorium with tens of thousands of people. But for this week's audience, the first of Italy’s nationwide lockdown, the square was empty and police barred access to St. Peter’s Basilica to anyone but individuals seeking to pray.

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Scores of passengers and crew aboard a river cruise boat are being held under quarantine in eastern Cambodia after a British passenger tested positive for the coronavirus.

The vessel belonging to Viking River Cruises is under police guard as it remains moored on the Mekong River outside the town of Kampong Cham.

Cambodian Health Minister Mam Bunheng on Wednesday visited the Kampong Cham provincial hospital, where the 65-year-old woman from the United Kingdom is being held for observation and treatment. The woman is Cambodia's third confirmed case.

Mam Bunheng said late Tuesday that the remaining 63 passengers and crew aboard would be tested and quarantined for 14 days. Four other passengers from the U.K. have already been tested with negative results.

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