Coronavirus: Mosques in Saudi Arabia’s Mecca set to reopen on June 21

Mosques in Saudi Arabia’s Mecca are preparing to reopen their doors on June 21 after the coronavirus pandemic forced them to halt prayers for three months, state television channel al-Ekhbariya reported on Friday.

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More than 1,500 mosques will be allowed to reopen in the city if they follow preventative health measures against COVID-19, according to state television.

Individuals will have to bring their own prayer mats and maintain social distancing during prayers.

Ahead of the reopening, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs hired agencies to sterilize the inside of the buildings completely and accepted dozens of volunteers who will work to implement precautionary measures inside the city’s mosques.

Mosques across the Kingdom, except in Mecca, have been allowed to welcome believers since the end of May.

The interior ministry had later issued a statement saying that it would be suspending all prayers in all mosques in the city of Jeddah from June 6 until June 20 as part of efforts to curb the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

The Kingdom has so far reported 150,292 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

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