CAIRO, March 21, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Egypt’s religious authorities ordered
Saturday the closure of all mosques and churches and banned communal prayer
gatherings to try and stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The decision taken by the ministry of religious endowments, which oversees
mosques nationwide, and the Coptic Orthodox Church will run for at least two
weeks.
In separate statements, the ministry and the church said the move is aimed
at avoiding large gatherings such as prayers and mass, where the risk of
contamination could be high.
The religious endowments ministry said in a statement it “decided to halt
prayers and to close all mosques… starting today (Saturday) and for two
weeks”.
It urged worshippers to pray at home.
The Coptic Orthodox Church said it ordered “the closure of all churches,
suspension of ritual services, masses and activities”.
The decision, including a ban on visits to monasteries nationwide, “is
effective from Saturday for two weeks… and until further notice”, it said.
Late Friday, Egypt’s Catholic Church said it suspended mass until further
notice.
Egypt has so far has recorded eight deaths out of 285 confirmed cases of
coronavirus.
Authorities have imposed tough measures to limit social interaction in the
country of 100 million inhabitants, where Christians represent around 10
percent of the population.
They have closed schools and universities, ordered the overnight closure of
cafes, restaurants, nightclubs, sporting clubs and malls, and reduced the
number of public sector employees. Egypt has also halted air traffic from
Thursday until the end of March.