SINGAPORE: From next Wednesday (Oct 7), 19 mosques in Singapore will open up 50 more spaces for daily congregational prayers, as part of progressive reopening plans amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
The increase of available slots from 50 to 100 worshippers is to “meet the demand from congregants at these mosques”, said the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) on Wednesday (Sep 30).
READ: COVID-19: 12 religious organisations will be allowed to hold services of up to 100 people as part of pilot
The selected mosques are as follows:
From October, 15,225 spaces will be offered for Friday prayers at 64 mosques across Singapore, said MUIS.
“MUIS eventually aims to gradually increase the number of prayer spaces to 30,000 slots every week,” added the council.
This will enable congregants to book a slot for Friday prayer every four to five weeks. To achieve this, some mosques will pilot accommodating up to 250 congregants across five zones.
When the online booking system for Friday prayers was first introduced in June, repeat bookings were only allowed after seven weeks.
MUIS also announced that from Oct 16, Friday prayer timings will be adjusted. The new timings are as follows:
Session 1: 12.45pm to 1.15pm
Session 2: 1.45pm to 2.15pm
Session 3: 2.45pm to 3.15pm
“Those who are unable to attain a slot for Friday prayers are given the flexibility to replace Friday prayer with Zuhur prayer and are encouraged to tune to SalamSG TV and other online platforms to listen to Friday sermon,” said MUIS.
“The Fatwa committee is also exploring and examining all options very carefully based on our religious principles and values, to see if other adaptations to our religious life and practices are needed,” it added.
Singapore reported 23 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, including three community cases – all of whom are work pass holders.
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