The government subsequently restricted congregations at mosques to a maximum of five worshippers for the daily prayers.
(File Photo: IANS)
Bangladesh will allow Muslim worshippers to attend prayer congregations in mosques from Thursday onwards as the government continues to ease the lockdown restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic.
However, mosque authorities and the worshippers must comply with a set of safety protocols to hold congregations, bdnews24 quoted the Religious Affairs Ministry as saying on Wednesday.
In keeping with the hygiene rules to reduce the risk of contagion, mosques are not allowed to use common carpets for prayers while devotees are required to carry individual prayer mats from home.
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According to the ministry, mosques must be cleaned with disinfectants before every prayer session – five times a day and also install hand-washing facilities equipped with soaps or provide hand sanitisers at the entrances.
It added that worshippers must wear masks to the mosques while maintaining a space of at least three feet between each other when they line up for the prayers.
Children, the elderly, any sick person or those engaged in treating the sick will not be allowed to participate in congregations.
Earlier on Wednesday, Bangladesh police have charged 11 people and arrested two others for allegedly spreading rumours over the coronavirus pandemic on social media.
Bangladesh has already extended the nationwide lockdown to May 16 amid a surge in the confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths.
The country approved the controversial Digital Security Act in September 2018, which penalizes “negative propaganda” against Bangladesh’s liberation war or late president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The government subsequently restricted congregations at mosques to a maximum of five worshippers for the daily prayers.
COVID-19 cases have surged to 11,719 in Bangladesh, with 186 deaths.
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