Coronavirus: Morocco allows 10,000 mosques to resume daily prayers

Friday prayers, suspended because of the virus, will be allowed to resume this week in some mosques

A Moroccan police officer controls a vehicle at checkpoint next to the Hassan II Mosque, as a billboard reads "All Against the Corona Virus - Follow Medical Instructions "in Casablanca, Morocco. AP

Friday prayers are to resume in Morocco with 10,000 mosques to reopen this week after closing for months in an attempt to contain the coronavirus pandemic, the government said.

Morocco recorded 3,185 new cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, taking the total number of infections to nearly 160,333 with 2,726 reported deaths.

It has the highest number of cases among its North African neighbours.

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“Mosques will be able to host five daily prayers in addition to the Friday sermon,” the Ministry of Islamic Affairs said. The decision will be effective from Friday.

Mosques must ensure they take preventive measures into account when welcoming worshippers to ensure the virus does not spread, the ministry said.

Since mid-July, only 5,000 of the more than 50,000 mosques in Morocco have been operating and none were open for Friday prayers.

Nearly 20,000 mosques are still closed, the ministry said. It did not explain the status of the remaining 15,000 mosques.

The government lifted a strict, three-month long lockdown in mid-July but daily cases have increased rapidly during the last few months.

Authorities began a third phase of gradually lifting the lockdown, with foreign business visitors allowed to enter the kingdom from September 10.

The outbreak of the virus has taken a huge toll on the country’s healthcare services, and medical staff have bemoaned a lack of bed space and coronavirus equipment in hospitals.

Photos showing Covid-19 patients lining the corridors of overcrowded hospitals, with some lying on the floor, caused an uproar on social media.

The Health Ministry tried to quell public anger by setting up field hospitals.

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI said last month that if numbers continued to rise, “the Covid-19 Scientific Committee may recommend another lockdown, perhaps with even tighter restrictions”.