Covid-19: Endowment Ministry calls on shortening Friday prayers

CAIRO – 19 March 2020: Awqaf (Endowment) Ministry called on all imams (preachers) to shorten Friday prayers as much as possible, as part of the government’s bid to limit gatherings to avoid the spread of the deadly Coronavirus.

The ministry warned preachers against posting or sharing inaccurate information or news via their social media pages.

As per the statement, preachers should arrive one hour early at the mosque before Friday prayers begin, to follow up on the cleaning works.

The minister of endowment ensured that precautionary measures should be followed along with having confidence in God and that we should not be controlled by panic and dismay.

As part of the ministry’s anti-Covid-19 precautionary measures, a campaign was launched to sterilize mosques. Also mosques will close all toilets and abulation areas outside prayers' times.

As a result of the rise in the death toll due to Coronavirus across the world, with many countries recording hundreds of deaths daily, a lot of countries announced suspending group prayers, including Saudi Arabia.