COVID-19: Guidelines on religious events soon

KUALA LUMPUR (March 12): The government will soon issue guidelines on gatherings at mosques and religious events in light of the worsening global COVID-19 situation.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (pictured) said in a Facebook posting that working papers on the conduct of religious events are being sorted out by the Prime Minister’s Department.

“We have had discussions on this. The papers will include guidelines on how people should greet one another, wedding feasts, as well as burials,” Dr Noor Hisham revealed.

Minister in charge of Islamic affairs Zulkifli Mohamad also confirmed that the working papers are on the way, set to be completed in two or three days’ time, reported Free Malaysia Today.

“This includes on greeting people, weddings and the handling of corpses. We have a few suggestions,” he told the media after an event at Masjid Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin today.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic yesterday.

WHO’s declaration came as Europe faced a mounting number of cases — including a slew of new countries clocking first deaths — prompting governments to roll out increasingly tough measures to slow the rapid spread of the virus.

The number of cases across the globe has risen to more than 124,000 with 4,500 deaths, including a jump in fatalities in Iran and Italy in particular.