Reopening mosques for prayers to be only determined by cabinet's committee: Egypt's Awqf Min.

CAIRO – 27 May 2020: The Ministry of Awqaf said no date has so far been set to reopen mosques for prayers, noting that the matter is to be determined by the cabinet’s coronavirus crisis management committee.

According to a statement released by the Ministry on Tuesday, the ministry said it did not and will not disclose any information about the date of reopening mosques to worshippers.

The entire matter will be under consideration by the cabinet’s coronavirus crisis management committee during its meeting early next week, it said.

There is nothing representing the Ministry of Awqaf but the official statements published on its official website or that of the cabinet, the statement read.

It should be noted that 789 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Egypt on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases to 18756, the Health Ministry said in its daily briefing.

The ministry also reported 14 deaths due to the novel virus, bringing the total number to 797.

Also, the test results of 5606 people turned from positive to negative, the ministry said, including 5027 people who totally recovered. It added that 127 patients left hospitals.

On May 14, Egypt released a coexistence plan to deal with the coronavirus pandemic over the coming period. The government highlights the importance of abiding by precautionary measures while preparing to gradually resume the normal life cycle.

The plan comes as a bid to reduce the number of infections and deaths, achieve a balance between maintaining a normal life cycle and abiding by the precautionary measures, to get rid of the negative psychological effects of the outbreak, and to avoid crowds resulting from services like transportation and shopping.

Cinemas, theaters, cafes, fitness halls, and sports clubs should remain closed during the period of coexisting with the coronavirus in light of the first phase of the ministry’s plan to cope with the virus set to start at the beginning of June.

The ministry also recommended keeping the ban on weddings and funerals and suspending universities, schools, kindergartens, and nurseries.