UAE Sharia council issues fatwa on coronavirus

On Tuesday, UAE’s Sharia Council issued a fatwa that prohibited those infected with or suspected of coronavirus from attending congregational prayers including Friday prayers and Eid prayers, according to a report on Gulf News.

Read: UAE confirms six new coronavirus cases; total tallies 27

The fatwa comes at a time when the UAE declared that it had six new confirmed coronavirus cases in the country, taking the country’s total number of cases up to 27.

Read: Schools, colleges in the UAE expected to close for four weeks from March 8

On Tuesday, the UAE’s Ministry of Education also said that all schools and colleges across the country would be closed for four weeks starting on Sunday, March 8.

The newly issued fatwa requires the public to follow the sanitation and hygiene guidelines set up by authorities to contain the spread of the virus.

“Those suspected of being infected with Covid-19 must be quarantined and commit to treatment programme set out by health authorities” the council added.

Senior citizens, minors and those suffering from respiratory diseases are allowed not to attend congregational prayers.

On Thursday, Saudi Arabia said that it was suspending all Umrah visits with immediate effect in light of the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak.

Read: Saudi Arabia suspends all Umrah visits

The UAE Sharia council has added that all Muslims must abide by Saudi Arabia’s decision out of its sovereign and legal responsibility to look after the health and safety of its visitors.

The fatwa added that information about the virus should only be obtained from official sources and called on people not to take advantage of the circumstances by raising prices of goods and services including pharmaceutical products and treatment services.