Pak doctors warn congregational prayers in mosques may cause 'significant mayhem'

Pakistan'stopdoctorshavewarnedof"significantmayhem"and"fataloutcomes"ifmosquescontinuetoremainopenandurgedthegovernmenttoreviewitsdecisiontoallowcongregationalprayersduringthemonthofRamzanamidthedeadlycoronavirusoutbreak.

ThePakistangovernmentlastweeksuccumbedtopressurefromthehardlineclericsandallowedconditionalcongregationalprayersinmosquesduringRamzan,endangeringthedrivetocurbthespreadofcoronavirusthathaskilledmorethan175,000peopleworldwide.

InPakistan,thecoronavirushaskilledmorethan200peopleandinfectedover10,000others.

Inalettertothegovernmentaswellasreligiousleader,thedoctorsaskedtolimittheprayersto3-5persons-apracticealreadygoingontocheckthecoronavirusoutbreak.

IndusHospitalCEODrAbdulBariKhanconfirmedthattheletterhadbeensenttoexpressfearsandreservationsofthemedicalcommunity.

Thedoctorswrotethatmostlyagedpeopleof50yearsandabovegotomosquesandreferredtovideosthatsurfacedinthepast48hourshadshownthatmorethan80percentofthepeopleattendingprayersinmosquesweremostlyintheir60sand70s,Dawnonlinereported.

"Clearlythishasresultedintheviolationofthefirstandforemostprincipleofpreventingthespreadofthevirusinthemostvulnerablegroup"ofelderlypeople,statedtheletter,whichhasbeenendorsedbythePakistanIslamicMedicalAssociation(PIMA).

"WithRamzanapproaching,wewouldunderstandablyexpecthighernumberofnamazis(worshippers)attendingtheprayers.Moreover,longTaraweehprayersandwaitingtimeswillleadtoprolongedgatherings.Itisallbutcertainthatthiswillcausesignificantmayhem..."itadded.

HospitalsinKarachihavestartedexperiencinga"significantinfluxofcoronapositivepatients",thelettersaid."Weanticipatethesenumbersandresultantmortalitytoexpandexponentiallyinthenextfewdays."

"Thiswillundeniablyresultinsignificantpressureonouralreadycompromisedhealthsystem."

Thedoctorsexplainedthatincreasedexposuretothevirusincreasesthelikelihoodofgettinginfectedand,asaconsequence,ofcomplicationsanddeath."Wefearthatallowingcongregationalprayersinlargernumberinourmosquesmaycontributetosuchfataloutcomes,"theletterstated.

Itexpressedthefearthatalloftheaboveissueswillhavethecombinedeffectofjeopardisingthe"reputationofIslamandthatofourulema"andwillleadto"unwantedlossoflives".

"Inthesecircumstances,ifCOVID-19diseasebecomesanepidemicinPakistanandthegovernmentlosescontrolofitsmanagementinthecountry,itwillnotjustbeafailureofPakistanasacountrybutitmayhavesubstantialunwantedandunforeseeneffectsonthewholeMuslimummah,"itsaid.

Italsocautionedthatwhiledoctorsarereadytoputtheirlivesatrisk,ifhealthcareprofessionalsinPakistandieasperthetrendseeninothercountries,"therewon'tbemanyresources[left]includingmanpowertolookafterourpatients".

Accordingtoofficials,sofar140doctors,nursesandparamedicshavebeeninfectedacrossthecountrymostlyinworst-hitPunjabprovince.

ThemedicsalsoclarifiedthatPakistanis"arenomoreimmunetothisvirusthantherestoftheworld",sayingdatareleasedbytheUK'sNationalHealthServicehadshownthatavastmajorityofhealthcarestaffwhodiedthereduetoCOVID-19comprisedAsiansincludingmanyMuslims.

Theyobservedthatthe"socialfiber"ofthePakistanisocietyisonewhere"mismanagement,indisciplineandnotfollowingorobeyingtherulesispredominantlycommon[and]where[even]educatedpeopledonotfollowtheday-to-daytrafficrules(forexample)andmiscommitmentinourdealingsisanorm".

Withsuchhabitsandbehaviouralpatterns,itis"almostimpossible"forulema,mosquemanagementsandtheadministrationtomakepeopleabidebytheconditionsmentionedintheconsensusdocumentofthegovernmentandtheulema,especiallyindenselypopulatedareasofthecountry"wherepeoplearegenerallynoteducatedandunabletocomprehendtheconsequencesofsuchviolations",theirletterstated.

Notingthatthecomparisonbetweentheopeningofmosqueswiththeopeningofbusinessesandshopsis"notvalid",thedoctorsrequestedthegovernmentandbusinesscommunityto"practicepatience"andcontinuetokeepmarketsandnon-essentialshopsclosedandonlyallowhomedeliveriesfromrestaurants.

Inthesamevein,"anyotherworldlymattersleadingtopublicgatheringsandinteractionsshouldalsobecurtailedinexactlythesamefashion",thelettersuggested,remindingthatthenovelcoronavirusdoesnotdistinguishbetweenpeoplebasedonthenatureoftheiractivitiesbutthestrength,quantityanddurationoftheirgatherings.

PresidentArifAlvilastweeksaida20-pointplanhasbeenreachedwiththeclericsonthecongregationalprayersduringRamzanaftertheyagreedtofollowthegovernmentguidelines.

SeveralcountriesincludingtheUAE,SaudiArabia,Iran,Algeria,Jordan,Kuwait,Turkey,Syria,LebanonandEgypthavestoppedcongregationalprayersinmosques.

InseveralArabcountries,the'azaan'(callforprayer)hasbeenamendedandnowiturgespeopletoprayintheirhomes.

Lastweek,SaudiMinisterofIslamicAffairsDrAbdulLatifAlSheikhaskedpeopletoperformthespecial'taraweeh'prayersattheirhomesduringRamzaninthewakeofthevirusoutbreak.