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Liberian President George Weah has said he will partially lift restrictions on praying in mosques and churches designed to curb the coronavirus, while extending a confinement in the capital, Monrovia.
In a statement Friday, the former international footballer said the emergency measures announced in April would extend for two weeks in the West African nation.
This includes a ban on all movements among the country’s 15 counties, the closure of nonessential businesses, and orders to stay home for Monrovia’s approximately one million residents.
But Weah said he would allow churches to resume services starting May 17, and mosques starting May 15, provided they operate at 25 percent of their capacity to allow social distancing.
Liberian authorities have recorded 199 cases of coronavirus to date, with 20 deaths.
As with other poor countries in the region, there is a fear that Liberia is ill-prepared to handle a major outbreak.
The nation of about 4.8 million people was severely affected during the 2014-16 West African Ebola crisis, which killed more than 4,800 people in the country.
