AFRICA/SUDAN - Covid-19: Caution urged in Sudan before Eid El Adha holiday

Tuesday, 4 August 2020

Karthoum (Agenzia Fides) - No new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in 14 out of 18 states in Sudan in the past two weeks, however, precautionary measures against the spread of coronavirus will be maintained across the country for the next three weeks, according to a report by Sudan’s High Committee of Health Emergencies sent to Agenzia Fides.
The public was asked to strictly implement social distancing rules amid concerns that social interactions during the Muslim holiday of Eid al Adha, which recalls the sacrifice of Abraham and ended yesterday 3 August. The Feast of the Sacrifice is celebrated every year from the evening of July 30, in the lunar month of Dhū l Ḥijja where the canonical pilgrimage to Mecca takes place.
On this occasion, the Ministry of Religious Affairs directed mosques to adhere to all health directives during the Eid El Adha to avoid the spread of coronavirus. Suleiman Bashshar, the undersecretary of the ministry, called on imams to shorten the prayer time by reading short Suras from the Koran and shortening the sermon to the shortest possible time. Bashshar also instructed worshipers to wear face masks or cover their noses and mouths with their turban or garment. Each individual worshiper should carry his own prayer mat as much as possible to avoid infection. Bashshar also said that the Sudanese Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) Academy issued a fatwa authorising people to choose not to perform Friday prayers in groups in mosques because of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Ministry of Health, 72 new Covid-19 cases, including five deaths, were recorded as of July 27, bringing the total number of infections since the beginning of the pandemic to 11,496. The number of deaths recorded is 725 and the number of recorded recoveries has reached 6001. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 4/8/2020)


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