Pope Francis, who cancelled a series of engagements last week after falling ill, has tested negative for coronavirus - amid an outbreak of the disease in Italy that has sickened 2,000 people.

Pope Francis (pictured today) prayed that clergymen would 'have the courage to go out and go to the sick people' as he celebrated Mass by himself at the Vatican this morning.

The footprints mark where people should stand to avoid close contact under the one-yard rule - which Italians were taking to heart by carrying rulers into bars and shops today.

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis has today issued a new decree, stating that some of Rome's churches will stay open, despite his initial order to close all of the religious sites just a day ago.

Speaking to daily Italian publication La Repubblica on Wednesday, the Pope said he had asked God to stop the epidemic in Italy 'with his hand'.

Pope Francis was seen delivering his weekly Angelus prayer to an empty Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican City this morning, as Italians stay home to combat the spread of coronavirus .

Some 5,476 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus across Italy, with more than 59,000 cases of the deadly virus confirmed.

Giuseppe Berardelli, 72, from Casigno in Italy's hardest-hit Lombardy region, died from coronavirus last week - but locals say he did not give up his respirator as was first reported.

Pope Francis was swabbed along with those who surround him yesterday, it has been reported. They all tested negative for coronavirus. The pope had a cold last month.

The head of the Catholic Church seemingly compared the cardinal to Jesus in a tweet on Tuesday.

Pilgrims have been barred from retracing Jesus's steps in the Holy Land, with flights grounded and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre closed for the first time since 1349.

The Argentine pontiff live-streamed an Easter Monday prayer from his private library as the Vatican and Italy entered a second month of restrictions on most outdoor activities.

During Mass today the pope said the coronavirus recovery could not leave anyone behind. He spoke at the church of Santo Spirito in Sassia in Rome, Italy, to mark Divine Mercy Sunday.

Eliezer Grynfeld (pictured) died in Israel last week, leaving two children, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Christopher Grant (pictured with his sister) was shopping at the Walmart in El Paso, Texas, where Patrick Crusius opened fire on Saturday, killing 22 people.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez used a vigil for victims of gun violence on Monday night to call Donald Trump a racist. 'I don't want to hear the question, 'Is this president racist?' anymore. He is,' she said.

Families of 31 victims are mourning their loved ones after the gun rampage at Walmart in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday and the FBI now fears vulnerable relatives could be targeted by con artists.

Michael Dale Hudson, 56, was captured on surveillance camera bursting through the entrance of the supermarket on Gibsonton Drive, narrowly avoiding an elderly shopper.

Friends and family gathered Thursday in Mexico to mourn a school principal, the first funeral service held for the 22 people that died in last Saturday's Walmart shooting.

Employees were sent were sent a memo on Thursday, which circulated online, instructing them to 'immediately' remove 'aggressive' displays, including hunting videos and combat games.

Donald and Melania Trump met the youngest survivor of the El Paso shooting at a hospital on Wednesday. Paul Anchondo's parents Jordan and Andre were among 22 people killed

Charles Lawson of Pineville, Kentucky, was diagnosed with bipolar schizophrenia after driving to the Pentagon with multiple weapons in his truck on Tuesday.

Presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke (pictured) made an unannounced visit to a gun show in Arkansas to discuss his plan to ban assault weapons and a gun buyback program. 

Vergara was her own best advertisement as she modeled a chic evil eye shirt from her own Walmart line Sofia Jeans during a visit to the upscale Saks Fifth Avenue.

El Paso shooting suspect Patrick Crusius, 21, says he purchased his AK-47 rifle from Romania and his ammo from Russia in his August 3 attack in a Walmart that left 22 dead.

According to the Columbia Police Department, Amanda Jardinez had taken six juveniles - including her two children - inside of a Columbia Walmart. She left with her boyfriend, James Holovich.

Jessica and Guillermo Garcia are demanding answers as to why there were no security guards in place to prevent the shooting at an El Paso Walmart in August, killing 22 and injuring 24.

The woman, in a video of the manager providing her with the unexpected personal service, and in a video of his good deed that's gone viral, later drove her car to the store to get the flat fixed.

Wence and Jerald Flores-Monge, aged 21 and 18 , were arrested after spewing racial profanities at a store worker in Kenner, Louisiana. A third family member, Sandy Monge also was charged.

Kevin Butcher was selecting an outfit for his father's burial in a Milford Walmart on Monday with his wife, Sherri, but neither of them knew how to tie a tie.

Antonio Basco was arrested Monday night for driving drunk in the same blue 2019 Ford Explorer that was donated to him by a car dealership in August.

Jet is winding down its service after about a year due to problems with pricing and keeping fresh food in stock. Jet will shut down a facility in the Bronx where more than 200 people work.

Walmart is using robots to fulfill grocery orders and is set to add shelf-scanning machines to 650 additional stores by the end of the summer - all with the hopes of reigning supreme as the king of retail.

A man (pictured) wearing a yellow face mask and a sign on his back reading, 'Caution, I have the Coronavirus,' walked into a Walmart store in Illinois (inset) and sprayed Lysol on merchandise.

Walmart is rolling out a new subscription service to rival Amazon Prime that could include unique perks its online competitor does not already offer, like discounts on prescriptions and fuel.

Stephen Hutchins, 37, of Conley, Georgia, was taken into custody by Forsyth County Sheriff's deputies on Sunday after leading them on a high-speed chase. He allegedly shoplifted a Walmart.

A wild fight broke out between Antwunette Echols (in white coat), Cia Gatlin (in black pants) and Teauna Lewis (in grey pants) inside the Davenport, Iowa, Walmart on Thursday.

Walmart is the latest in a line of major grocery store chains forced to reduce its hours on Saturday amid the coronavirus pandemic as panic shopping continues.  

Donald Trump insisted Sunday that people stop panic buying and hoarding food and goods as the coronavirus death toll in the U.S. hit 63 and cases neared 3,500. 

Mike Pence has promised that Americans will get thousands of coronavirus tests per day from now on after the government switched to a faster method, amid widespread criticism of efforts so far.

Stop & Shop welcomed seniors to its first seniors-only shopping hour on Thursday morning as Walmart added its name to the list of stores offering designated shopping hours to people over 60.

Amazon, Walmart and other retailers have all experienced a huge increase in online orders as the coronavirus continues to spread across the US.

President Donald Trump has expressed his gratitude for companies like Walmart and FedEx that have been 'working nonstop' to help Americans amid the coronavirus outbreak.

South Carolina mother Courtney Watts Doster has shared her baby Emmett's battle against coronavirus in a desperate Facebook appeal where she warned COVID-19 can strike even the very young.

Justin Rhodes, 31, told viewers in the Facebook Live stream he was largely asymptomatic, except for a 'tickly throat', while walking around the Walmart in Albermarle, North Carolina, last week.

Walmart announced Tuesday it will check the temperatures of its store workers and provide them protective gloves and masks when they come to work.

The woman was paying for her items at an outlet in Yreka, California last week and reportedly became enraged after accusing the cashier of overcharging her.

The estate of Wando Evans filed the suit in Illinois on Monday, saying the Walmart store south of Chicago was not properly cleaned and employees were not given masks.

Doug McMillon (left), the president and CEO of Walmart, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos (right) are pictured. The retail giants started temperature checks of employees at their facilities.

Army Private First Class Glendon Oakley Jr., 23, was found dead in his quarters at Fort Bliss on Wednesday, a spokesman confirmed.