Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church has announced that Friday masses will resume from 11 September, after a six-month hiatus due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In an official statement on Sunday, the church said weekly Friday masses will resume, with a reduced number of congregants and other precautionary measures in place. Church-affiliated nurseries will also be allowed to reopen, albeit at a 50% capacity, although some church activities will remain suspended, the statement added.
The Coptic Orthodox Church halted most public church services in March, in the wake of the growing emergence of the coronavirus in Egypt, and allowed some services to resume on 3 August.
Since 9 July, Egypt has consistently recorded daily new infection tallies of less than a thousand, with the daily toll dropping below the 200-case threshold since 2 August. The lowest daily tally of infections in four months was recorded on Saturday, with only 89 new cases.
Mosques were allowed to reopen for daily prayers at the end of June, following their closure in March, with Friday prayers in mosques to be resumed from 28 August.
