Due To COVID-19, Medical Personnel In The United Arab Emirates Are Not Obliged To Fast During Ramadan

Illustration. (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Muslims around the world are getting ready to welcome the holy month of Ramadan. However, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, worship during Ramadan from fasting to others will slightly adjust to situations and conditions such as maintaining distance or physical distancing.

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the religious authorities give freedom to medical personnel working at the forefront of fighting COVID-19, to choose whether to fast or not. Meanwhile, other Muslims are advised not to gather when praying in the holy month of Ramadan which is expected to fall on Thursday, April 23.

The United Arab Emirates Fatwa Council has finalized a statement that all healthy people are obliged to fast, but it is different for medical personnel on the front lines against COVID-19, they do not need to fast.

"If they are afraid, and insist on fasting, it can cause their immunity to weaken, or to lose their patients," the Council statement said.

The statement also states that Muslims comply with physical distancing when praying during Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr holidays. In fact, currently, the UAE has suspended worship in all places of worship including mosques as part of precautionary measures.

"Gathering for prayers can be life-threatening, an act strictly forbidden in Islam," the statement read.

UAE Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum announced the launch of a humanitarian campaign on Sunday to provide 10 million food packages to communities affected by the outbreak in the country.

Today, we launched a humanitarian campaign to provide 10 million meals or food parcels to the communities affected by the coronavirus outbreak in the UAE. Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum is the best person to lead this campaign during the Holy Month of Ramadan. pic.twitter.com/hkRQv4btV1

- HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) April 19, 2020

"Providing food for everyone, with the approach of the Holy Month of Ramadan, is a social priority in our battle against the pandemic," he said on his personal Twitter account.

For your information, the UAE has recorded 6,781 positive cases of contracting COVID-19, with 41 dying in the world. This number won the second highest predicate, after Saudi Arabia.