Friday prayers in Algeria's Great Mosque to be suspended

The mosque was only inaugurated last month

Algerian worshippers pray at the Great Mosque, also known as Djamaa Al Djazair, during its inauguration in the Algerian capital Algiers on October 28, 2020. AFP 

The Algerian Ministry of Religious Affairs is suspending Friday prayers at the Great Mosque of Algiers starting November 13.

The mosque, which is the third largest mosque in the world after the two holiest mosques in Saudi Arabia, was inaugurated on October 29.

After the large gathering of worshippers at the first Friday prayers last week, officials decided to suspend holding Friday prayers at the Grand Algiers Mosque starting this week to safeguard public health. Prayers will resume at the mosque once health and safety conditions are met.

The ministry's officials had found several breaches of the country's Covid-19 health and safety measures.

Algeria reported a record 753 new daily cases on Tuesday. Another 15 deaths and 301 recoveries were also recorded over the past 24 hours. Algeria now has 63,446 cases with 2,077 deaths and 42,626 recoveries.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune tested positive for Covid-19 this month, and was flown to a hospital in Germany for treatment.