Muslims in Pakistan and around the world are marking a second Ramazan under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic as cases in several countries surge and restrictions are tightened.
Ramazan began in most Muslim countries on Tuesday.
Observant Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk and traditionally gather with family and friends to break their fast in the evening.
However, concerns about the spread of the virus and tightened restrictions in several countries, including Egypt, Iran, and Turkey, meant that people were unable to mark Ramazan in the traditional way.
People wait to break their fast at sundown, during Ramazan, at a free food distribution point, in Karachi. — AP
Truck drivers pray before breaking their fast in Lahore on Thursday. — AP
A worker sprays disinfectant to sanitise a mosque ahead of Ramazan in Peshawar on Tuesday. — Reuters
Workers from 'Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan' prepare boxes of food and groceries to be distributed for free among needy people during Ramazan, in Peshawar. — AP
A volunteer prepares drinks for worshippers before they break their fast on the first day of Ramazan, at the Jamia Mosque in Rawalpindi on Wednesday. — AFP
People read the Holy Quran during Ramazan, as the outbreak of the coronavirus disease continues, at a mosque in Karachi. — Reuters
Worshippers perform evening prayers after breaking their fast in Rawalpindi. — AP
A day earlier, the World Health Organisation (WHO) expressed concern that the Covid-19 pandemic could worsen in the Middle East and North Africa during Ramazan.
Detected cases of Covid infection in the region rose 22 per cent last week, while deaths rose 17pc, said Ahmed al-Mandhari, the Cairo-based chief of the WHO for the eastern Mediterranean.
Mandhari said the situation in the vast region reflects a “worrying trend”.
“We are especially worried that the current situation may worsen during Ramazan if people don't follow and adhere to the proven social measures that work,” he told an online news conference.
Muslims perform mid-day prayers during Ramazan, at the historic Mohabat Khan Mosque, in Peshawar on Wednesday. — AP
Young Palestinian girls wearing face masks due to the coronavirus pandemic, read the Quran during Ramazan, in Gaza City. — AFP
A municipality worker in a protective suit disinfects the Kocatepe Mosque to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, during Ramazan in Ankara, Turkey. — Reuters
Muslim devotees pray at a shrine during Ramazan in Srinagar on Thursday. — AFP
Mohammad Said, 65, a private security guard, offers an evening prayer after Iftar along a sidewalk in front of closed shops in Karachi, April 15. — Reuters
Hajja Dalal, a 46-year-old Mesaharati, beats a drum to wake up Muslims to have the pre-dawn meal before they start their long-day fast during Ramazan at Maadi neighbourhood in Cairo, Egypt on Tuesday. — Reuters
People leave after offering prayers on the first day of Ramazan at Jama Masjid in the old quarters of Delhi, India. — Reuters
Header image: Indonesian Muslims pray spaced apart as they practice social distancing to curb the spread of the new coronavirus at Agung Al Barkah mosque in Bekasi, Indonesia. — AP
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