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Rabat – It is the second year in a row that the global Muslim community celebrates Eid al-Adha under the constraints of COVID-19. Here are the numbers.
The celeration, also known as “The Feast of the Sacrifice,” began this year on Wednesday, July 21. While many Muslims worldwide have been prevented from attending the feast’s more social functions due to pandemic-related restrictions, today hundreds of millions of Muslims are gathering at home with a much smaller social circle than is typical
Many countries have seen a much faster spread of COVID-19 this year around, with many observers maintaining that the grim trend is attributable to the emergence of the new Delta variant. Meanwhile, the Hajj, a pillar of the Islamic faith and the holiest pilgrimage a Muslim could undertake, has been severely reduced in scale
Despite the alarming resurgence of cases across the Maghreb and around the world, Morocco’s North African corner remains relatively calm. Morocco recorded nearly 4,000 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, hovering at around 20,000 active cases. Algeria, for its part, registered 1,298 new cases, while maintaining about 45,000 active cases across its 43 million population.
Eid celebrations to the South of Morocco could go ahead relatively unaffected by the pandemic that is raging across the world. Mauritania registered only 176 new cases in the past 24 hours with about 1,500 active cases in total at the moment, while Mali registered only 9 new cases and currently has a reported total of approximately 2,500 active cases.
But the numbers pick up further along the North African coast. For Tunisia’s relatively small population of 11 million people, the recently registered 6,158 new cases were a grim addition to the alarming situation.
The North African country now counts over 100,000 cases, and current projections are far from sanguine. The Tunisian government recently fired its Health Minister, citing his department’s poor handling of COVID-19.
In the meantime, governments in the region – including Morocco’s – have sent much-needed humanitarian and medical aid to assist Tunisia in its struggle to get the virus under control. As the MENA region celebrates Eid al-Adha this week, it is highly likely that many in the region prayed for the situation to improve for their Tunisian brothers and sisters.
Egypt, with its 102 million population, registered only 51 new cases – a small addition to its estimated 45,000 active cases. The country’s total case count stands at approximately 555,000.
Libyan authorities registered 1,781 new cases with a total of 40,000 active cases. Lebanon registered only 632 new cases, and only 1 death in the last 24 hours.
In Asia, national lockdown is ongoing in both Indonesia and Malaysia, but the two countries are looking to introduce stricter travel restrictions. With a population of over 200 million, Indonesia registered 33,772 new cases and 1,383 new deaths. For its part, Malaysia reported nearly 12,000 new infections for its 32 million people.
Eid al-Adha is typically celebrated with communal prayers and large social gatherings, something many Muslims worldwide have been unable to experience this year due to COVID-19-related health measures.
