Imam-e-Kaaba says Holy Mosques will reopen soon

Imam-e-Kaaba Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais has said that worshipers will soon return to the two holy sites in Saudi Arabia, reported the Saudi Gazette.

“Days (will come) when the sorrow will be driven away from the Islamic Ummah and we return to the Two Holy Mosques for tawaf (circumambulation around the Holy Ka'ba), sa'i (the ritual of hastening between the hills of Safa and Marwa) and praying at Al-Rawdah Sharif and greet the Prophet (peace be upon him),” Sheikh Al-Sudais, said in a video posted on official social media accounts.

He added that the situation will return to as they were before, assuring people that the state was also keen on creating a sound and healthy environment.

The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, in a statement posted on Twitter, also reassured Muslims that worshipers will return to the holy sites under the "wise leadership" of the Saudi government.

The publication also reported that earlier, Sheikh al Sudais also monitored the installation of thermal cameras in the Grand Mosque.

The Gazette reported that the cameras have been placed at the entrance of the mosque's courtyard. It added that the cameras have the capacity to accurately scan the temperatures of up to 25 people at the same time.

Similar cameras have also been put up in the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina earlier this month, said the Gazette.

Saudi Arabia last week partially lifted the curfew in all regions of the kingdom from 9am to 5pm. However, state news agency SPA said that the 24-hour curfew will, however, remain in Makkah and in previously isolated neighbourhoods.