Malaysia announced on May 14 that it will lift a ban on mass prayers in mosques, starting from May 15, as the Muslim-majority country is gradually loosening restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kuala Lumpur will allow prayers by congregations limited to 30 or fewer (Source: Reuters)
Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia announcedon May 14 that it will lift a ban on mass prayers in mosques, starting from May15, as the Muslim-majority country is gradually loosening restrictions imposedto contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The news follows last week's reopening ofmany businesses in Malaysia, which has confirmed 6,819 infections and 112deaths. It comes ahead of the Eid holiday that ends the fasting month ofRamadan, and falls on May 24 this year.
The Kuala Lumpur capital is amongMalaysia's federal territories which will allow prayers by congregationslimited to 30 or fewer, said Minister of Religious Affairs Zulkifli MohamadAl-Bakri.
The measure excludes Malaysia's 12remaining states, which have their own laws on religious matters, but Zulkiflisaid they were free to adopt similar measures if they wished.
Mass prayers have been banned since aroundmid-March in a partial lockdown after more than 2,300 people were infected inthe country's biggest outbreak, following a religious gathering at a mosqueattended by about 16,000 people.
Although new daily cases have declinedsteadily, schools and colleges will stay closed until June 9. Healthauthorities identified six infection clusters involving Islamic religious schools, with635 students and staff testing positive.
On May 14, the country reported 40 newcases and one death.
Meanwhile, ít neighbour Indonesia confirmed 568 new infectionsand 15 fatalities on the day, raising the total to 16,006 and 1,043,respectively./.
Malaysia's unemployment rate is now the highest since the 2008-2009 world financial crisis, at 3.9 percent, as people saw their livelihoods affected by COVID-19 and the movement control order (MCO), said the country’s Department of Statistics.
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will not face a confidence vote on May 18 as earlier scheduled, the speaker of the parliament said on May 13 after the government cited the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic as a priority.
Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth fell sharply to 0.7 percent in the first quarter of this year, the lowest seen since Q3 2009, according to a statement from the Department of Statistics Malaysia.
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Kuala Lumpur will allow prayers by congregations limited to 30 or fewer (Source: Reuters) 
