Iran temporarily opens mosques for three days

All mosques in Iran will reopen temporarily on Tuesday, a further step in the government's plans to ease restrictions that aimed to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, the official irib news agency reported.

The decision to re-open the mosques was made in consultation with the Ministry of Health, according to Mohammad Qomi, the director of the Islamic Development Organization.

Also read: Ramzan in the times of coronavirus

Qomi said later on Monday that mosques would only be open for three days commemorating specific nights for the holy month of Ramadan and it was unclear whether they would stay open, according to the fars news agency.

The move comes even though some parts of the country have seen a rise in infections. 

Tasnim news agency reported on sunday that a county in southwestern iran had been placed under lockdown. it also quoted the governor of Khuzestan province, where the county is located, as saying there had been a sharp rise in new cases across the province.

Last friday, prayer gatherings resumed in up to 180 Iranian cities and towns seen as being at low risk of coronavirus contagion after a two-month suspension, state media reported.

The resumption of Friday prayers, still banned in the capital Tehran and some other major cities, followed the reopening last Monday of 132 mosques in areas consistently free of the virus.

Schools will reopen next week, president Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday, according to the official presidency website.

Iran has already lifted a ban on inter-city trips and malls, with large shopping centres resuming activities.