Lectures in mosques have been suspended in Saudi Arabia as the kingdom has tightened restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Minister of Islamic Affairs and Call Abdulatif Bin Abdulaziz has directed suspension of all religious guidance activities and turning them online, the Saudi news agency SPA reported.

The minister also directed that prayer timings as well as the duration between the Adhan (prayer call) and the start of the prayer are set. According to the directives, the time between the Adhan and performing the prayer is set at 10 minutes for all daily group prayers except for the Fajr (dawn) prayer, which are 20 minutes.

As part of the new precautions, mosques shall open 10 minutes before the prayer and close 10 minutes after. For the Friday congregation prayers, mosques shall open 30 minutes before the Adhan and close 15 minutes after the prayer end. The Friday sermon shall not exceed 15 minutes.

Social distancing

The ministerial directives have reminded worshippers of the importance of using personal prayer rugs in mosques, wearing the protective face masks and observing social distancing as part of earlier anti-virus precautions.

The measures come after Saudi Arabia has reimposed a raft of restrictions including suspension of all events and parties such as weddings and corporate meetings for at least 30 days.

The restrictions, which went into effective Thursday, also include suspending all entertainment activities for 10 days that may be extended.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia started enforcing a temporary ban on flights from 20 countries in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19

SOURCE : GULF NEWS

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