Following a spike in recent coronavirus infection rates, the Saudi Royal Family ordered religious authorities to close down 71 number of mosques today. The mosques that have been closed include some of the busiest in the Kingdom, many of which have been observed breaking the preventative protocols put in place. A number of the mosques were found to contain several hundred worshippers at any given time packed into tight spaces, a which a safety official described as a a state of “unsafe overcrowding”, making it almost impossible to maintain social distancing.
The Minister of Islamic affairs, Abdul Latif Bin Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh said that “The failure of these mosques to abide by preventive protocols has led to more COVID-19 cases being reported”.
