Measures taken ahead of re-opening mosques in less-infected governorates

CAIRO – 11 June 2020: After a long halt to holding prayers at mosques to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Egypt announced Thursday re-opening a number of mosques in July as part of the government’s cautious steps to resume normal life activities.

Among a bundle of decisions announced Thursday, a number of large mosques in governorates with low infection rates will re-open for worshippers under certain conditions.

Ministry of Endowment confirmed that it is preparing for the re-opening of the mosques as soon as the Coronavirus Crisis Management Committee at the Cabinet approves the decision.

The ministry has set a plan and numerous regulations to resume work at mosques; the plan will be submitted to the Coronavirus Crisis Management Committee that is scheduled to hold its meeting next week.

As part of the plan, the ministry will distribute 320,000 meters of new prayer rugs among directorates across the country. Places where worshippers will be standing inside the mosque will be marked to ensure safe distance from all directions during prayers.

During a Wednesday press conference held in Cairo, WHO representatives said that more than 7 million COVID-19 infections and more than 400,000 deaths were reported worldwide, where the figures recorded in MENA region were 670,000 infections, and 15,000 deaths, representing around 10 percent of the worldwide figure.

They explained that the increasing figure in the region is a worrying development at the time the number of cases is decreasing in Europe.

During the conference, the resumption of pilgrimage has been discussed, where WHO representatives stressed that there should be intensified measures to protect against the spread of the virus, and that the organization is in direct communication with Saudi Arabia to fully supervise the mechanism of resuming pilgrimage.