Three more Bahrain mosques closed for Covid violations

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments announced closing three more mosques in the Kingdom for violating COVID-19 restrictions.

The mosques were closed for allowing entry to worshippers who had not inoculated in violations of instructions given by the Sunni and Jaafari endowment administrations. As per the decision, the entry should be allowed only to those with proof of COVID-19 vaccination presented through the “BeAware Bahrain” app, which appears 14 days after the second dose.

“The laxity of those in charge of ensuring the vaccination certificate of worshippers upon entry led to the closures,” the ministry said. The mosques in the southern governorate would remain closed for three weeks, as suggested by the National Medical Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus.

The closure is for tracking the extent of the spread, carrying out contact tracing and sterilisation of the mosques. The ministry said it would ensure that COVID-19 measures are followed and put into practice strictly.

The ministry also urged all to follow COVID-19 protocols to allow everyone to perform religious rituals without endangering the lives of each other.

As per the instructions given, mosques should open 45 minutes before prayer time and close 25 after. Only 10 minutes are allowed for Sermon. Mosques should also deny entry to women and children under 15 years of age.

Mosques should also keep Isha and Tarawih prayers within 40 minutes. Waiting time between the call to prayer and the evening prayer is limited to five minutes.

Earlier last week, the ministry shut four mosques in the Muharraq and Southern governorate for a week for failing to comply with COVID-19 protocols.