IPOH: The Perak Islamic Religious Department (JAIPk) has enforced a temporary ban on religious gatherings among tabligh members at the state's mosques and surau.
Its director, Datuk Mohd Yusop Husin said this following the increasing number of tabligh members who have tested positive for Covid-19 after attending a religious gathering at the Sri Petaling mosque.
"Tabligh members will usually return to their respective hometowns and hold another religious gathering in a smaller scale.
"They will engage with other tabligh members who could not make it to the religious gathering in Masjid Jamek Sri Petaling and share their knowledge and experience.
"This is worrying as the number of tabligh members who tested positive for Covid-18 is increasing. This temporary ban needs to be enforced immediately in order to control the outbreak," he added.
Mohd Yusop added that community (kariah) committee members are also required to check mosques and surau should tabligh members who attended the gathering at the Sri Petaling mosque visit these places in the state.
"The committee members need to act swiftly by not allowing any of those who tested positive for Covid-19 to visit mosques or surau.
"Should there be positive cases, the committee members need to perform a thorough cleaning and disinfection of the whole mosque and surau.
"Seek guidance and advice from respective district health offices on any related matters," he said.
Two individuals from Perak tested positive for Covid-19 after attending the religious gathering at the Sri Petaling Mosque which was held from Feb 28 to March 1.
Malaysia confirmed 190 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, raising the tally of infections in the country to 428.
It is the highest single-day increase in cases on record since the outbreak began on Jan 25. The new Covid-19 tally makes Malaysia the worst-affected country by the virus by far in Southeast Asia presently.