Violation of SOPs for mosques aggravates virus situation in KP.

Byline: Manzoor Ali

PESHAWAR -- The brazen violation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) set for mosques led to critical situation of Covid-19 in the province, according to official reports.

The reports informed provincial government that if the practice was allowed unchecked, it was likely to further exacerbate an already grim situation.

Details available with Dawn show that a presentation made to the provincial government termed the situation 'critical' as cases were continued to rise alarmingly.

The presentation also contained photographic evidence of brazen violations of SOPs for mosques during Taraweeh and Friday prayers all over the province including some of the largest mosques of the provincial capital.

In the photographs, the worshippers could be seen standing shoulders to shoulder in violation of the SOPs. The document states that on April 24, nearly 650 people gathered at Jamia Masjid Qasim Ali Khan, the mosque where unofficial Ruet-i-Hilal committee headed by Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai is based.

Govt asked to take prayer leaders into confidence and enforce SOPs strictly

Another mighty gathering in provincial capital took place at Jamia Masjid Umer Farooq in Hayatabad, where about 500 people turned up for Friday prayers.

The presentation, which covered the number of cases till April 26, said that provincial capital accounted for nearly 35 per cent of positive cases from all over the province.

It said that the death ratio in the provincial capital was also high and stood at 8.75 per cent. It said that positive cases in the province were 14.9 per cent while the ratio of deaths stood at 34 per cent. KP's death ratio of 5.19 per cent was the highest in the country as compared to national average of 2.1 per cent.

Detailing the violations of mosques SOPs all over the province, the document noted that about 1,000 people gathered on the same Friday at Andorn Bazaar Mosque in Jamrud area of Khyber tribal district.

Nearly 1,800 worshippers gathered at Teshil Bazaar Mosque in Shabqadar area of...