Shrines popularly visited by Iranians in the countryside of Damascus were closed by precautionary measures announced by the Syrian government, which began to sterilize all public places and means of transportation in the capital as part of its fight against the novel coronavirus.
Public workers sprayed sterilizers on bridges and on the streets of Damascus.
“We have been sterilizing transport buses around the clock in order to preserve the safety of the citizen, and there is a field supervision and follow-up team equipped with medical staff dedicated to this purpose,” Mohammed Abu Rashid, assistant director of transport, told Reuters.
More so, the Umayyad Mosque was closed to both visitors and worshipers, according to an order issued by the Syrian Ministry of Endowments.
Syria will also postpone parliamentary elections to May 20 from April 13 as a precautionary step against the spread of coronavirus, a statement from the president’s office said on Saturday.
Syria has said it has no confirmed cases but is taking preventative steps such as shutting schools and public venues as it monitors for the virus.
Last week, the Syrian government suspended visits to tourists and religious groups from countries where coronavirus cases have emerged, as part of measures to avoid an outbreak of the disease in the country.
The committee running the shrine at Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque said it will remain closed until April 2.
During this period, the mausoleum will be sterilized, it added.
According to the committee, the move has been made at the request of Syria’s health ministry with the aim of protecting the health of pilgrims.
A source in Syria’s Awqaf Ministry said the shrine at Sayyidah Ruqayya Mosque and its prayer halls will also be closed until April 2.
Classified a pandemic by the World Health Organization, the new virus, a respiratory disease known as COVID-19, emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei Province late last year.
It has killed more than 7,000 people globally, and infected nearly 180,000 others, according to the WHO.
