Iran cancels Friday prayers amid virus fears

Iran has canceled performing the Friday prayers over fears of the spread of Covid-19 in the country. The disease, which originated from China has killed 26 people in the country, making it one of the worst-hit countries apart from China in the world.

The government of Iran has stated that infected cases in the country numbered at 245. The figure includes top health officials in the country. 104 cases were tested positive in the country within the last 24 hours. It also announced that the Friday prayers in major cities were canceled upon a request by the Health Ministry of the country.

Citing state media, Reuters reported that the Friday prayers in 23 cities in 33 provinces would be canceled, including in the holy city of Qom. The holy city, where Shia Muslims from all over the world visit, was the first where an infected case was tested positive in the country.

Iran has also placed travel restrictions on those arriving from China as a safety measure.

The disease which has spread to 44 countries across the globe, has infected more than 82,000 people. 2,808 have died from the disease while 33,021 have made recoveries after contracting the disease.