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Saturday November 23, 2024

Vaccination made compulsory to offer prayers in Sindh mosques

Sindh Home Department issues list of updated COVID-19 protocols for mosques and worshippers

By Kamran Razi
November 26, 2021
Muslim devotees wearing protective masks offer Friday prayers at the Jamia Masque during the Islamic holy fasting month of Ramadan in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on Friday. — Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images
Muslim devotees wearing protective masks offer Friday prayers at the Jamia Masque during the Islamic holy fasting month of Ramadan in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on Friday. — Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images

KARACHI: The Sindh government on Friday made coronavirus vaccination compulsory for people offering prayers in mosques, in a bid to keep the virus' spread in check.

In a notification issued on Friday, Sindh Home Department released a list of updated COVID-19 protocols for  mosques, in line with the National Command and Operation Centre's (NCOC) directives.

"Only fully vaccinated individuals are allowed to offer prayers in masajid to avoid risking others," read the notification.

It further stated that that all worshippers will be required to continue covering their faces with masks when praying inside mosques.

In addition to this, the mosque administrations have been directed to remove the carpets from the mosques' floors and ensure  adequate ventilation for indoor prayer gatherings.

It should be noted that as of November 25, Sindh reported 43 new cases of coronavirus in the province after 6,468 tests were conducted. No deaths were reported.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, in a statement, said that 6,686,895 tests had been conducted in the province against which 473,750 cases were diagnosed, of which 97.1% or 460,136 patients had recovered.

He added that 5,995 patients were under treatment, of which 5,794 were in home isolation, while 12 were admitted to isolation centres and 189 at different hospitals.