Tajik leader urges farmers to delay Ramadan fast amid coronavirus fears

The country has not reported a case of Coronavirus yet

Muslims perform the Eid prayer at Haji Yaqub Mosque to celebrate Eid Al Fitr. Getty

Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon urged local farmers on Thursday to delay fasting for Ramadan so they can stay healthy and productive during the coronavirus pandemic.

Muslims around the world fast during the day throughout the month of Ramadan. Those who can't fast because they're ill are allowed to catch up later in the year.

Tajikistan has reported no coronavirus cases, but it has closed its borders and taken other steps to keep Covid-19 from spreading, including closing mosques.

In an address to Muslims, who make up the vast majority of the Tajik population, Mr Rakhmon said that ensuring public health and food security was a valid reason to put off fasting.

"I urge everyone working in the fields ... in the name of their health and that of their families, ensuring their households' welfare, to use this dispensation and delay the fast until a more favourable time," Rakhmon said.

The former Soviet republic of 9 million has asked the International Monetary Fund and other donors for emergency aid to offset the impact of global recession on its economy.

Tajikistan imports some key food, such as wheat, and one of its suppliers, Kazakhstan, has already introduced quotas to limit exports.

Tajikistan is also likely to have much less hard currency to pay for imports, because Tajiks working in Russia are sending less money home.

Last week, thousands of people packed into mosques in Tajikistan to attend Islamic prayers before a ban on religious gatherings came into effect to prevent the spread of the virus.

Thousands of men walked and prayed in tight formation at the central mosque in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe.

Most were wearing masks.

"We try not to fear, we walk under God and are grateful to him," said Saabzali Kosimi, a 71-year-old clergyman present at the mosque last Friday.