Saudi Arabia to ease lockdown in phased manner

Dubai, June 30: The United Arab Emirates is all set to reopen mosques and other places of worship at 30 per cent capacity from July 1.

However, Friday prayers will remain suspended in the country, said Saif Al Dhaheri, Spokesperson for the National Crisis & Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA) during a virtual press briefing on Monday.

The official said certain mosques in industrial areas, labor residential areas, shopping malls and public parks will remain closed until further notice.

He said health authorities already conducted Covid-19 tests for Imams and workers serving at the mosque to ensure health and safety of the worshippers.

Al Dhaheri also spelt out guidelines that worship centres have to follow to welcome worshippers.

A distance of three metres should be observed between each worshippers and no handshakes are allowed. Worshippers will have to perform ablutions at home. People should bring their own personal copies of Holy Quran or read from digital copies. It is also mandatory for all worshippers to download and activate contract tracing app AlHosn.

"We urge the public to cooperate by following precautionary measures including social distancing. Children under 12 years old, the elderly as well as individuals with chronic diseases should avoid going to mosques," said the official.

The UAE first announced the suspension of public prayers in all places of worship on March 16, which was extended until further notice on April 9.

As Khaleej Times reported, places of worship had been preparing to reopen since the last few weeks by sanitizing parking lots and outdoor areas, entrances, main prayer halls and ablution areas.

The spokesperson also announced that the Private and commercial boat trips and water sports will be allowed to operate at reduced capacity of 50 per cent but by following precautionary measures.

The total number of recovered cases of Coronavirus (Covid-19) in the UAE has reached 37,076 with 665 cases recovered today after receiving treatment. Since the beginning of June, UAE has had a daily recovery average of 660 cases, said Dr. Amna Al Shamsi, Spokesperson for the UAE government.

Guidelines

1. Maintain a distance of 3 metres between worshippers.

2. No handshakes allowed.

3. Ablutions must be performed at home.

4. To read the Holy Quran, worshippers must bring their own copies.

5. All worshippers must download and activate contact tracing app AlHosn

6. People in vulnerable categories like those with chronic diseases and the elderly must not visit the mosques.

Riyadh, Mar 26: The video summit of the G20 leaders slated for Thursday will unite the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Arabia's King Salman said.
"As the world confronts the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges to healthcare systems and the global economy, we convene this extraordinary G20 summit to unite efforts towards a global response. May God spare humanity from all harm," tweeted King Salman, who will chair the summit.
The summit will be held today via video conference with an aim to advance a coordinated global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its human and economic implications, the Kingdom had said yesterday in a statement.
India is a member nation of the G20 group. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will take part in the summit, said that the Group of 20 (G20) has an important role to play in the fight against coronavirus.
He said: "The G20 has an important global role to play in addressing the #COVID19 pandemic. I look forward to productive discussions tomorrow at the G20 Virtual Summit, being coordinated by the Saudi G20 Presidency."
The other members of the group include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the European Union.
Several international organisations -- including the United Nations, World Bank, the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization will take part.

Leaders from the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Financial Stability Board, the International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development -- will also be the part of the conference.

Regional organisations will be represented by: Vietnam, the Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); South Africa, the Chair of the African Union (AU); the United Arab Emirates, the Chair of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC); and Rwanda, the Chair of the New Partnership for Africa's Development.

Riyadh, Mar 6: Saudi Arabia on Thursday emptied Islam's holiest site for sterilisation over fears of the new coronavirus, an unprecedented shutdown state media said will last while the year-round Umrah pilgrimage is suspended.

The kingdom halted the pilgrimage for its own citizens and residents on Wednesday, on top of restrictions announced last week on foreign pilgrims to stop the disease from spreading.

State television relayed images of an empty white-tiled area surrounding the Kaaba -- a large black cube structure inside Mecca's Grand Mosque -- which is usually packed with tens of thousands of pilgrims.

As a "precautionary measure", the area will remain closed as long as the umrah suspension lasts but prayers will be allowed inside the mosque, state-run Saudi Press Agency cited a mosque official as saying.

Additionally, the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque in the city of Medina will be closed an hour after the evening "Isha" prayer and will reopen an hour before the dawn "Fajr" prayer to allow cleaning and sterilisation, the official added.

A group of cleaners was seen scrubbing and mopping the tiles around the Kaaba, a structure draped in gold-embroidered gold cloth towards which Muslims around the world pray.

A Saudi official told news agency the decision to close the area was "unprecedented".

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia suspended the umrah for its own citizens and residents over fears of the coronavirus spreading to Islam's holiest cities.

The move came after authorities last week suspended visas for the umrah and barred citizens from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council from entering Mecca and Medina.

Saudi Arabia on Thursday declared three new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of reported infections to five.

The umrah, which refers to the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca that can be undertaken at any time of year, attracts millions of Muslims from across the globe annually.

The decision to suspend the umrah mirrors a precautionary approach across the Gulf to cancel mass gatherings from concerts to sporting events.

It comes ahead of the holy fasting month of Ramadan starting in late April, which is a favoured period for pilgrimage.

It is unclear how the coronavirus will affect the hajj, due to start in late July.

Some 2.5 million faithful travelled to Saudi Arabia from across the world in 2019 to take part in the hajj, which is one of the five pillars of Islam as Muslim obligations are known.

The event is a massive logistical challenge for Saudi authorities, with colossal crowds cramming into relatively small holy sites, making attendees vulnerable to contagion.

Already reeling from slumping oil prices, the kingdom risks losing billions of dollars annually from religious tourism as it tightens access to the sites.