The Religious Affairs Ministry of Bangladesh on Monday instructed people to offer their daily prayers at home. In a notice issued on Monday, the Ministry said that only five people including Imam, Muazzin, Khatib and Khadim will be allowed to offer their daily prayer at the mosque.

On Fridays, only 10 people will be allowed to offer prayer in the mosque. The government also banned all other kinds of religious gatherings like Tabligh, Milad Mahfil etc. in the country by any religious group. The notice warned that people defying the instructions will face legal action.

The order comes in the wake of the largest single day case of new infections in Bangladesh. On Monday, the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) said that 35 new Corona positive cases were detected in the country, while 3 people died due to the infection. With this the total number of people who died due to Corona in Bangladesh has gone up to 12 and the number of infected persons reached 123.

During the virtual media briefing on Monday IEDCR Director Dr. Meerjady said that Dhaka has reported the largest number of infections with 64 persons suffering from Corona. She said now 15 out of the 64 districts of Bangladesh have reported cases of Corona.

Earlier Health Minister Zahid Maleque had told media that four people died and 29 new cases of Corona were found in the last 24 hours till Monday noon. However, Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) DG Abul Kalam Azad said that the figure quoted by the minister was a mistake as he reported the figure immediately after an emergency meeting.

Following the sharp rise in reported cases of Corona, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ordered the law enforcement agencies to strictly implement social distancing and other government directives to control the Corona virus.

