A Singaporean man who tested positive for coronavirus visited the Al-Ansar Mosque located in Bedok North eight times for offering evening prayers between June 26 and July 2. The mosque, which was closed after the disclosure, has been reopened after disinfection.
The global pandemic has infected over 45,000 people in Singapore and caused 26 deaths since its outbreak in December last year.
COVID-19 Positive Person Traced by Health Authorities
The unnamed person visited the mosque to offer prayers in the evening. Last month, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) had issued a release stating that the daily congregational and Friday prayers would gradually resume in the mosques June 26 onward.
In a press release, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) said that the Ministry of Health notified them about the infected individual visiting the mosque multiple times. The authorities were informed on July 7, following which the mosque was closed immediately for cleaning and disinfection. "The person could be traced due to the safeguards put in place by mosques, Muis added.
The prayer services resumed on July 9 and Friday prayers will be carried out as planned on July 10, the release was quoted by Today.
Worshipers Asked to Monitor Their Health Closely
Even though MUIS stated that contact made between worshipers in the mosque is transient as the time they can spend inside the premises is restricted, it urged the worshipers who visited the mosque during the same duration, to monitor their health closely for 14 days, reported Mothership. The authorities further advised the worshipers to seek medical treatment in case they do not feel well.
While MUIS has restricted the timings for Friday prayers to two prayers sessions of 30 minute each, with a half an hour break to manage crowd, it has asked elderly, children and those with chronic respiratory conditions to perform their prayers at home instead of coming to the mosque, reported the outlet.
The new rules implemented after the reopening of the mosque also has a time limit of 20 minutes for sermons and prayers. The maximum limit of congregants in each prayer session has also been restricted to 50.
"Those who do visit mosques should remain vigilant and follow all safe management procedures, while those who feel unwell should stay at home. With everyone's cooperation, we can keep Covid-19 at bay and progressively resume more activities at the mosques in time to come," Muis added in the release.
