Senegalese muslims resume collective prayers during Ramadan under strict health protocols

It’s that time of the year again for Muslims the world over. Ramadan is here again. Known as the holy month, faithful will have to fast from sunrise to sunset.

In Senegal, hundreds of Muslim worshippers gathered for the first night of Ramadan at the Massalikul Jinaan mosque in Dakar, one of the largest in West Africa.

Mbackiyou Faye is the permanent representative of the General Khalife of the mourides in Dakar. He noted that no one is allowed access into the mosque without adherence to strict health and safety protocols.

"The wearing of masks, the washing of hands, the gels that we must use and the physical distancing, we observed them strictly. No one entered the mosque without putting on their mask and washing their hands. We have, at each entrance of the mosque, positioned worshippers with packets of mask and also the hydroalcoholic gel", Faye said.

Activities at the mosque were suspended in 2020 because of the pandemic.

The collective prayers of the holy month are allowed this year.

The government lifted health restrictions in March after a decline in coronavirus infections.

The west African nation has registered a total of 39,560 covid-19 cases, some 38,290 recoveries have been recorded with 1,084 deaths.