Covid-19: Bahrain suspends prayers at mosques for two weeks

Bahrain has suspended all prayers and religious events at mosques for two weeks.

The fortnightly suspension is effective February 11 onwards, and will be subject to periodic review, based on upcoming developments.

Friday prayers and sermon will continue to be aired live from the Ahmed Al Fateh Islamic Centre, in the presence of a limited number of worshippers, Bahrain News Agency reported.

The Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments announced the directive, based on the religious opinion of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (SCIA) and on the recommendations of the National Medical Taskforce for Combating Covid-19.

The move aims to protect elderly people in light of spiking infections, the ministry added.

In the last week of January, the kingdom’s health ministry confirmed that all public and private schools, universities, and kindergartens licensed by the Ministry of Education in Bahrain, will be shifted to remote learning for three weeks to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

Read more: Covid-19: Bahrain shuts all schools, closes dine-in services at restaurants

Bahrain also approved the emergency use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India under the name Covishield.

Read: Bahrain approves emergency use of Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine

Covishield is the third vaccine to receive emergency authorisation in Bahrain following Sinopharm and Pfizer-BioNTech.