Saudis Use New Technique to Sterilize Mecca's Grand Mosque

Sheikh Abdel Rahman bin Abdel Aziz Al-Sdess, president of affairs of Mecca's Grand Mosque, launched on Monday a new technique to sterilize the holiest shrine in Islam and its surroundings as the Coronavirus caused the closures of holy shrines in Mecca and Medina.

The new method depends on ozone gas to kill all microorganisms and viruses; it will be used to sterilize the Imam's shrine in the southern wing of the mosque where surfaces and carpeting will be cleansed thoroughly.

Oxygen of the air is used to produce the ozone as the later gas is a saturated form of oxygen because it contains three atoms of the gas. Ozone is an hyper active gas in oxidization and it has higher power in strong and speed reactions with various chemicals to form different environmental and biological systems. The gas is a safe and radical solution for cleansing and sterilization in many fields.

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia's King Salman issued an order, three days ago, to partially lift the curfew in all regions of the kingdom, to become from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., starting Sunday through Wednesday May 13, while keeping a 24-hour curfew in Mecca and in previously isolated neighborhoods, state news agency (SPA) said early on Sunday.

The order also allowed the opening of some economic and commercial activities, which includes wholesale and retail shops in addition to malls, in the period from 6 to 20 Ramadan, which is from Wednesday April 29 to Wednesday May 13.

The holy month of Ramadan began on Friday with Islam's holiest sites in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere largely empty of worshipers as the Coronavirus crisis forced authorities to impose unprecedented restrictions.

During Ramadan, Muslims the world over join their families to break the fast at sunset and go to mosques to pray. However, the pandemic has changed priorities, with curbs on large gatherings for prayers and public iftars, or meals to break the fast.

In a rare occurrence in Islam's 1,400-year history, Mecca's Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina - the religion's two holiest locations - will be closed to the public during the fasting period.

Prayers from inside the mosque at Mecca on the first evening of Ramadan on Thursday were restricted to clerics, security staff and cleaners, in a ceremony broadcast live on television.

Commenting on the start of Ramadan, King Salman, who is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, lamented the need for social distancing during the holy month.

"It pains me to welcome the glorious month of Ramadan under circumstances that forbid us from prayers in mosques," he said, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

"It doesn't feel special this year, we don't feel any Ramadan vibes," said Sarah, a mother-of-two in Riyadh.

At a near-empty Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, an Imam called out the first Friday prayers of Ramadan across a windswept plateau almost devoid of worshipers.