Egypt Suspends Daily, Friday Prayers in All Mosques for 2 Weeks

The Egyptian Ministry of Awqaf (Religious Endowments) has suspended the holding of daily prayers and the weekly Friday prayers for two-weeks starting today, as a precautionary measure against the spread of coronavirus.

Earlier today, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Ahmed Al-Tayyeb, decided to temporarily suspend Friday prayers as well as groupings in Al-Azhar Mosque, amid measures aimed to contain any potential spread of coronavirus.

"The decision which was issues this morning will get into effect starting from today, "to ensure the safety of worshipers, and until the elimination of the Corona epidemic.", he added.

Al-Tayyeb pointed out that such measures come in support of the serious and effective steps taken by Egypt to prevent the spread of the corona pandemic, and to protect the human soul that is one of the greatest priorities in Islamic law, which should be protected from all dangers and damages.

Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church, to which the majority of Christians in Egypt belong, also announced on Saturday that it’s shutting down all churches nationwide to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

It is noteworthy that the Egyptian Health Ministry said on Friday 29 new coronavirus cases were detected, including one foreigner and 28 Egyptians, some of them were abroad and others were in contact with the other positive cases.

“This upped the total number of confirmed cases to 285,” Khaled Megahed, the ministry’s spokesman said in a statement. 

The ministry noted that one more death was recorded, raising the total number of deaths to eight.

The ministry has stepped up precautionary measures in these governorates and intensified campaigns to spread awareness about infectious diseases.

Megahed stressed that the ministry announced all positive and suspected cases nationwide.

The ministry raises its preparedness at all the country’s ports and airports to monitor the virus developments, receiving inquires from citizens about the virus through its hotline 105 or 15335.