ALL mass gatherings should be suspended to curb the spread of Covid-19, said Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He did not specify a time frame in the advisory posted on Facebook.

The advice comes as federal religious authorities deliberate on whether to suspend Friday prayers at mosques nationwide.

Perlis has already decided to suspend congregational Friday prayers today, replacing them with Zohor prayers at home.

These moves follow the discovery of coronavirus infections from a Seri Petaling mosque, where 10,000 people, including foreigners, attended a “tabligh” (missionary) gathering from February 27 to March 1.

Selangor has imposed a ban on all activities related to the tabligh movement at mosques and surau in the state effective today.

Malaysian health authorities are trying to trace 5,000 attendees of the Seri Petaling mosque event who are locals.

Singapore, meanwhile, has shut down its mosques for five days after infections were confirmed among the republic’s citizens who attended the gathering.

With the week-long school holiday to start this weekend, Dr Noor Hisham advised against travel to countries with Covid-19 cases.

Those who are sick should also avoid going out during the holiday period, he said.

Malaysia recorded 158 coronavirus patients as of yesterday, of whom 32 have been discharged from hospital after making a full recovery.

While the majority of infections have been traced to travel abroad or close-contact clusters, three are classified as “sporadic cases”, indicating that the virus is present in the local community. – March 13, 2020.