Our worship should be done at home, i.e. tarawih prayers, reading Qur'an at home. Worship activities in the red zone should not be performed in a mosque in congregationJakarta (ANTARA) - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin emphasized that worship activities, including prayers, in congregation should not be performed during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in areas declared as red zones.
"Our worship should be done at home, i.e. tarawih prayers, reading Qur'an at home. Worship activities in the red zone should not be performed in a mosque in congregation," Amin noted in a statement here on Tuesday.
Amin is fully sentient of the fact that worship in congregation will reap huge rewards, though during the current COVID-19 pandemic, such activities would cause harm if they were to be continued.
"At the moment, we are in an apprehensive situation. Indeed, there is a lot of merit in congregation, but there is danger," Vice President Amin, concurrently the non-active chairperson of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), remarked.
Amin further expounded that the appeal to not worship in congregation during the pandemic incorporated suggestions from the Prophet Muhammad, who stated that Muslims must not hurt themselves and others.
Worshiping in congregation during a pandemic is akin to spreading danger to the community and other Muslims.
"Reciting Qur'an, performing iktikaf (a period of staying in a mosque) during the last 10 days of the holy month in the mosque can potentially raise the risk of COVID-19 transmission. We can be infected, and we can transmit it because we carry the disease," he stated.
Hence, Amin is optimistic that the people would be able to understand the current pandemic situation and be heedful of the appeal to worship in their respective homes, especially during Ramadan.
Jakarta has recorded 3,832 coronavirus cases as of Monday, April 27, 2020, with 338 people recovering from the infection, according to the Provincial Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Handling.
"A total of 375 patients have died, while 1,950 people are receiving medical treatment at hospitals, 1,169 people are self-isolating at their homes, and 969 others are awaiting the result of their laboratory test," Ani Ruspitawat, chief of Health Resources at the Jakarta Provincial Health Office, stated here on Monday.
The number of asymptomatic patients reaches 74, from 43 earlier, she pointed out.
The number of people under surveillance (ODP) has climbed to 5,993, from 5,947, while the number of patients under surveillance (PDP) has risen to 5,297, from 5,285 earlier.
Meanwhile, Doni Monardo, chief of the Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Handling, claimed the transmission of the novel coronavirus disease in the Indonesian capital has begun to show signs of slowing.
"According to the latest developments, the number of positive cases, especially in Jakarta, has gone down significantly and (the coronavirus curve has showed signs of) flattening,” he noted at a virtual press conference on Monday in Jakarta.
Monardo noted that the slowdown in the number of coronavirus cases in the capital could be attributed to the implementation of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB), effective from April 10, 2020.
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Reporter: Fransiska Ninditya, Azis Kurma
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