Coinciding with the Eid festivities, Saudi Arabia has announced 24-hour lockdown and curfew in the country. The Saudi Ministry of Interior had earlier announced that strict lockdown will be imposed from 23rd to 27th of May during the upcoming Eid holidays to mitigate the impact of Covid-19.
“Harsher fines have been announced and the Saudi govt said that the violators will be penalised. While social gatherings are a common tradition during Eid celebrations, authorities have urged people to adhere to social distancing measures to prevent the coronavirus from spreading. Gathering of more than one family has also been prohibited,” AIR reported.
Meanwhile, in Kerala, the Left Government has announced relaxations in lockdown restrictions in view of Eid ul-Fitr.
According to reports, shops including bakeries, fabric stores, sweets shops, fancy stores and footwear stores would be opened from 7 am to 7 pm. Meat and fish markets can remain open from 6 am to 11 am. The state government has also permitted inter-district travel for visiting relatives with all the preventive measures taken. People are supposed to maintain all COVID-19 protocols including social distancing, and wearing of facemasks.
The decision came on the same day when Kerala reported its highest single-day number till now, i.e. 62 new positive cases on Saturday. Kerala witnessed two major religious events, Vishu, a prominent Hindu festival and Easter during the lockdown. However, there was no relaxation in lockdown restrictions.
Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh was quoted by the local media earlier this week saying that it permissible for Muslims to perform the Eid al-Fitr prayer at home since the coronavirus pandemic has forced mosques around the world to close. Instances of Covid-19 has been on the rise in Saudi Arabia. More than 67000 cases have already been registered in the Kingdom. All major Islamic countries are celebrating Eid amid strict restrictions.
