Egypt’s Al-Azhar mosque, one of its oldest and largest mosques, and churches were ordered to shut their doors over coronavirus fears
Al-Azhar, Egypt’s top Sunni Muslim authority, would shut its historic mosque in old Cairo starting from yesterday “for the safety of worshipers, and until the end of the Corona epidemic,” it said in a statement. The mosque will not stop its prayers calls through microphones.No decision has been made regarding other the country’s hundreds of thousands of other mosques. Many on social media criticized the government for not cancelling the weekly Friday prayers.This comes as Zimbabwe on Friday confirmed its first case of coronavirus, a 38-year old man who returned from the United Kingdom on March 15.
Egypt so far registered 285 confirmed coronavirus cases including eight deaths.The country’s Coptic Orthodox Church on Saturday ordered all its churches to shut their doors and suspend masses for two weeks over coronavirus fears, it said in a statement. The church also banned visits to monasteries and closed condolences halls attached to churches, it added. Each parish will name only one church for funeral prayers and the sermons will be restricted to the family of the deceased.In South Africa, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Friday the number of confirmed coronavirus cases had risen by 52 to 202, with the first cases recorded in the Free State province. The virus has multiplied in Africa more slowly than in Asia or Europe, but the number of cases has started to rise more rapidly in South Africa in recent days.
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