President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this week announced that places of worship would be allowed to open their doors when regulations are relaxed to level 3 from Monday.

Only 50 worshippers will be allowed to gather at any given time with strict rules around physical distancing and hygiene to be followed.

The MJC said it believed the decision to reopen places of worship such as mosques should not be made hastily while the number of COVID-19 infections continued to rise.

It is concerned that over 60% of the country’s infections were recorded in the Western Cape, and the province also had the most deaths.

The MJC advised mosques located in hot spot areas not to reopen and worshippers over the age of 60 or those with underlying medical conditions are encouraged not to return for prayers.

EWN