Grand Mosque closed from Isha to Fajr due to Coronavirus

6 March 2020

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has decided to temporarily close the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the surrounding area starting from the Isha prayers time to the Fajr prayers time, a Saudi official said.

“Haramain will be closed after the Isha prayers and will be reopened before the Fajr prayers time,” the President of the Saudi Arabian Islamic Communication Center, Faheem H. Alhamid, told Indonesia Window via a short service message received in Jakarta on Thursday.

He added that during the closing time there was not a single person who performed the prayers or tawaf (worship around the Kaaba seven times round) in the Mataf area.

The Saudi Gazette reported that Saudi Arabia has so far extended the suspension of the implementation of the umrah (minor hajj) pilgrimage, including visiting the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, which also applies not only to foreigners, but also citizens and local residents following concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus.

So far, the Government of Saudi Arabia has reported that three of its citizens have been infected with the deadly virus.