The Serbian Orthodox Church interim leader bishop Hrizostom, who took over after Patriarch Irinej died of Covid-19 last month, was hospitalised Friday after testing positive for the coronavirus, the Church said. Hrizostom was admitted to a Belgrade hospital "due to the positive result of the test for Covid-19", a Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) statement said. It did not elaborate on the 68-year-old bishop's health condition. Hrizostom presided over the funeral of Patriarch Irinej in Belgrade on November 22, which was attended by thousands of people. During the ceremonies in the Church of Saint Sava he and most other priests did not wear masks. Irinej, 90, had been infected after presiding over the funeral of a senior colleague who also died of the virus, a ceremony in which basic safety measures were neglected. The new SPC patriarch is to due to be named in the next three months after elections. The Balkan country of seven million people is facing a record surge in coronavirus cases on an almost daily basis. Serbia has recorded more than 1,800 deaths from the respiratory diseases from over 200,000 people infected. bur-ljv/pvh