Mosques becoming ‘major source of transmission’ in Pak

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top Islamic medical body has warned that mosques are becoming a major source of transmission for the novel coronavirus and urged people to pray at home during Ramzan, as the COVID-19 cases in the country rose to 13,105 on Sunday.
“Mosques are becoming a major source of virus transmission,” Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) president Dr Iftikhar Burney said on Saturday. Talking to reporters, Burney said that the infected cases have surged rapidly during the past week.
“Around 6,000 cases for coronavirus surfaced in a month….but the same has doubled in the last six days,” he said, warning that the infection would further go up in the coming months of May and June. He said the number of patients in the intensive care units (ICUs) of the public hospitals is increasing at a shocking rate.
“Most of the hospitals in the country are housing more coronavirus patients that those suffering from other diseases,” he told reporters. His remarks comes days after Pakistan’s top doctors warned of “significant mayhem” and “fatal outcomes” if mosques continue to remain open and urged the government to review its decision to allow congregational prayers during the month of Ramzan amid the deadly coronavirus outbreak. The Pakistan government early this month succumbed to pressure from the hardline clerics and allowed conditional congregational prayers in mosques during Ramzan. (PTI)