Vatican City, March 3 (TIWN) Pope Francis has tested negative for the coronavirus after he fell ill and was forced to cancel a religious retreat near Rome, a media report said on Tuesday.

For the first time since he became Pope, the pontiff did not go to the week-long Lent retreatthat began on Sunday night at a Church residence south of Rome, as he was suffering from a heavy cold, the Metro newspaper said in the report.

The 83-year-old was then tested for coronavirus, the results of which came back negative, according to Italian newspaper Il Messaggero this morning.

But Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said he had no immediate comment on the report.