Saudi Arabia suspends prayers at two holy mosques
General view of the Grand Mosque which is almost empty of worshippers, after Saudi authority suspended umrah (Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca) amid the fear of coronavirus outbreak, at Mecca, Saudi Arabia March 6, 2020. REUTERS/Ganoo Essa
Saudi Arabian authorities have stopped Muslim worshippers from entering and praying at the two holy mosques in Makkah and Madinah in a bid to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, reported Anadolu Agency.
"The Presidency and the security and health authorities decided to suspend the presence and prayers in the outer squares of the Grand Mosque (Masjid al-Haram) and the Prophet's Mosque (Masjid al-Nabawi) starting tomorrow, Friday," the country's official SPA news agency quoted Hani bin Hosni Haider, a spokesman for the General Presidency of Makkah's Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah, as saying.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia suspended congregational prayers in other mosques in the country except Masjid al-Haram and Masjid al-Nabawi.
The number of confirmed cases of the virus in the country totals 274.
The novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, emerged in Wuhan, China last December and has spread to at least 160 countries and territories. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the outbreak a pandemic.
The number of confirmed cases worldwide totals 242,721 while the death toll exceeds 9,860 and over 85,600 have recovered, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US.
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