Covid 19: Cautious and gradual reopening of Morocco’s mosques

Moroccan worshipers will be able to attend mosques on July 15 for the five daily prayers except the Friday Prayer but this will be conditioned by strict caution to prevent the coronavirus from spreading, the religious affairs ministry said.

The ministry urged anyone with coronavirus symptoms to abstain from going to mosques to protect other believers.

People will have to wear facemasks, keep a distance of one meter and a half between worshipers and avoid crowding inside the mosques, the ministry said, underscoring a strict ban on hand shaking.

The ministry said that sanitizers will be made available at entrances as well as infrared thermometer, adding that people will have to take their own prayer carpets.

Mosques toilets and ablution area will be kept closed to avoid potential contagions, it said.

The opening of mosques will be on a region-by-region basis depending on the development of the pandemic.

The surge of cases in Morocco recently was due to hotspots in industrial clusters as well as the generalization of mass tests.

The health minister Khaled Ait Taleb said caution is necessary and warned of the risk of a second wave of the virus as summer ends.

So far, 99% of diagnosed cases are asymptomatic with only 17 cases in critical condition out of a little over 4000 active cases.

Morocco has so far recorded 14,730 cases, including 240 deaths and 10,848 recoveries with total tests standing at over 800,000.