MANAMA — Bahrain’s Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments has closed four mosques in the Muharraq and Southern governorates for one week after they failed to comply with the precautionary measures and the established health protocols, putting worshippers at risk, the Bahrain News Agency reported.

The decision was taken "in view of the laxity of those in charge of the mosques in implementing the required precautionary measures, especially those related to examining the worshippers' vaccination certificates and keeping a safe distance between those performing the prayers," the ministry said.

The ministry added that it consulted with the national medical task force to combat the coronavirus before announcing the closure of the mosques.

The time will be used to enable the dedicated teams to carry out the contact tracing and the sanitization process. A team will also make sure that the precautionary measures are properly followed in the mosques, it added.