Coronavirus halts Muslim pilgrimage, Friday prayers

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Fears over the new coronavirus outbreak in the Mideast disrupted the practice of Islam itself in the region on Wednesday, as Saudi Arabia banned its citizens and residents from performing the Muslim pilgrimage in Mecca and Iran cancelled Friday prayers in major cities.

The Saudi decision expands a ban last week on foreigners visiting Mecca and Medina, home to the holiest sites in Islam.

Meanwhile, authorities halted Friday prayers across all Iranian provincial capitals amid the country’s growing coronavirus outbreak.

Friday is the main congregational day of prayer in Islam, and traditionally an important event for Iran’s clerical rulers.

Tehran and other areas had cancelled Friday prayers last week over the outbreak.

Iran earlier announced that the new coronavirus has killed 92 people amid 2,922 confirmed cases across the Islamic Republic, the highest death toll in the world outside of China.

Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour announced the new figures at a news conference in Tehran, raising Iran’s death toll from the new illness to higher than Italy’s, where there has also been a serious spike in infections.

There are now over 3,140 cases of the new virus across the Mideast.

Of those outside Iran in the region, most link back to the Islamic Republic.

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