COVID-19: Saudi Arabia closes 71 mosques over increasing number of infections
Dubai: Saudi religious authorities have temporarily closed 71 mosques across the Kingdom over a rise in coronavirus infections due to non-compliance with precautionary measures and preventive protocols.
In a statment Minister of Islamic affairs, Abdul Latif Bin Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh said "The failure of these mosques to abide by preventive protocols has led to more COVID-19 cases being reported".
The mosques will be completely sterilised during the temporary closure, Al Sheikh added.
The shutdown of such a number of mosques is the first since Saudi Arabia reopened on Sunday, May 31, over 900,000 mosques across the kingdom, except in Mecca, in line with its plan to gradually return to normal life.