All Iran mosques set to reopen

All mosques in Iran will reopen on Tuesday, a further step in the government's plans to ease restrictions that aimed to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.

The decision to reopen the mosques was made in consultation with the Ministry of Health, IRIB quoted Mohammad Qomi, the director of the Islamic Development Organization, as saying on Monday.

The move comes even though some parts of the country have seen a rise in infections.

An agency reported on Sunday that a county in southwestern Iran had been placed under lockdown to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. It also quoted the governor of Khuzestan province, where the county is located, as saying there had been a sharp rise in new cases across the province.

Last Friday, prayer gatherings resumed in up to 180 Iranian cities and towns seen as being at low risk of coronavirus contagion after a two-month suspension.

The resumption of Friday prayers - still banned in the capital Tehran and some other major cities - followed the reopening last Monday of 132 mosques in areas consistently free of the virus.

Schools will reopen next week, President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday, according to the official presidency website.


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