Cairo: Bahrain has announced the temporary suspension of group prayers at the kingdom’s mosques to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Awqaf said that mosque prayers and all religious activities there will be suspended starting from tomorrow (Thursday) for two weeks. During this period, the Friday congregation prayers will be transmitted via the media with a limited number of worshippers.
The decision to close the mosques was taken upon recommendations of the national taskforce tackling COVID-19 and in coordination with the Sunni and Jafaari endowments departments, the ministry said. The move aims at protecting the worshippers, mainly the old people, due to a recent marked increase in coronavirus cases, it added, according to the Bahraini news agency BNA.
“Related decisions will be regularly reviewed according to the Sharia rules to protect the health and safety of everyone,” the ministry said.
Bahrain so far has registered a total of 108,807 virus cases and 387 related deaths. In August, the Gulf country allowed the gradual reopening of mosques after around five months of closure due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
