Mosques to not be opened within coming few days in Egypt: Awqaf Spox

CAIRO - 12 April 2020: Spokesman for Awqaf Ministry Ahmed el Qadi denied on Sunday that new decisions will be taken within the coming few days to open mosques that were closed across the nation amid coronavirus fears.

Once the virus is contained, the mosques will be immediately opened, he said during a phone call on Extra News channel.

The closure decision was taken after several consultations; there is no need to bid on the major institutions that took this decision, he added.

He warned imams or those in charge of mosques against violating the closure decision and opening mosques, saying the ministry will immediately fire violating imams.

It should be noted that the Ministry of Health announced Saturday April 11, that 145 new coronavirus cases were detected; all of them Egyptians, upping the total number of confirmed cases to 1939, Spokesman for the Health Ministry Khaled Megahed said in a statement.

Eleven patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 146, the spokesman said.