Saudi Arabia authority on Tuesday, March 17, ordered that all mosques in the kingdom should be closed for the five daily Islamic prayers as well as the weekly Friday prayers.
The Herald gathered that the authority said the order was an exceptional move to limit the spread of the coronavirus which has infected 171 people in the kingdom.
According to the order, the decision sought to direct worshipers to pray at home but did not affect prayers in Mecca’s Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina.
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It was learnt that the Arab world’s biggest economy has shut down cinemas, malls and restaurants, halted flights and suspended the year-round Umrah pilgrimage in a bid to contain the deadly virus.
Earlier, The Herald reported that Saudi Arabia on Saturday said it would suspend all international flights for two weeks, as part of the kingdom’s efforts to control the spread of the new coronavirus outbreak, the Saudi state news agency SPA reported.
The measure is set to be enforced from 11 am (0800 GMT) on Sunday, the agency said, citing an unnamed source at the Interior Ministry.
“This (will be) an exceptional official holiday for citizens and expatriates who were unable to return due to the suspension of flights or they were in quarantine after their return back to the Kingdom,” the source said.
The announcement comes two days after Saudi Arabia introduced new travel restrictions to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.
The announcement is also coming after the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the outbreak had reached the level of a global pandemic.
On Thursday, Saudi Arabia expanded its travel bans, halting travel to and from all European Union countries and Switzerland.
The decision affects 11 other countries in Asia and Africa, including India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sudan, South Sudan, and Somalia.
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, has already halted the Muslim Umrah pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca amid fears of an outbreak of the coronavirus.