KUALA LUMPUR: Worshippers slept in packed tents outside the golden-domed mosque, waking before dawn to kneel on rows of prayer mats laid out in its cavernous central hall. All the while, the coronavirus was passing unnoticed among the guests.
The Muslim gathering held at the end of last month at a sprawling mosque complex on the outskirts of Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur has emerged as a source of hundreds of new coronavirus infections spanning Southeast Asia.
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Police officers wearing protective masks stand guard outside the Seri Petaling Mosque, which has emerged as a source of hundreds of new coronavirus disease infections spanning across Southeast Asia, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
A 34-year-old Malaysian man who attended the event died on Tuesday, Malaysia's Minister of Health Adham Baba said, the first death linked to the Feb 27-Mar 1 event at the Sri Petaling mosque compound.
It was attended by 16,000 people, including 1,500 foreigners.
Out of Malaysia's 673 confirmed coronavirus cases, nearly two-thirds are linked to the four-day meeting, Adham said. It is not clear who brought the virus there in the first place.
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READ: Malaysia reports 2 COVID-19 deaths, including one from mosque gathering: Health minister
Reuters spoke to six attendees and reviewed pictures and posts on social media, and the accounts and evidence showed several ways in which the outbreak could have spread.
The hosts, the Islamic missionary movement Tablighi Jama'at, which traces its roots back to India a century ago, on Monday suspended missionary activities but did not comment directly on the Malaysian event.
Tablighi Jama'at did not respond to a request for further comment. The mosque where the event was held was closed on Tuesday and a guest said he was one of dozens of worshippers still there under quarantine. Calls to the mosque went unanswered.
Malaysia plans to shut its borders, restrict internal movement and close schools, universities and most businesses, as it seeks to control its coronavirus outbreak. All mosques will be closed for two weeks.
READ: Malaysia confirms first COVID-19 death, victim is pastor from Sarawak
"I was very surprised actually that it went ahead," said Surachet Wae-asae, a former Thai lawmaker who attended the event but has since tested negative for the coronavirus after returning home.
"But in Malaysia God is very important. The belief is strong."
The prime minister's office and the health ministry declined to comment further about the event.
HOLDING HANDS, SHARING PLATES
The packed gathering, where guests had to take shuttle buses to sleep at other venues, was attended by nationals from dozens of countries, including Canada, Nigeria, India and Australia, according to an attendee list posted on social media.
There were also citizens of China and South Korea – two countries with high rates of coronavirus infections.
Social media posts show hundreds of worshippers praying shoulder-to-shoulder inside the mosque, while some guests posted selfies as they shared food.
It was not clear how many guests were residents of Malaysia, but cases linked to the gathering are popping up daily across Southeast Asia.
"We sat close to each other," a 30-year-old Cambodian man who attended the event told Reuters from a hospital in Cambodia's Battambang province, where he was being treated after testing positive for the coronavirus on Monday.
"Holding hands at the religious ceremony was done with people of many countries. When I met people, I held hands, it was normal. I don't know who I was infected by," he said, asking not to be named due to fears of discrimination at his mosque.
None of the event leaders talked about washing hands, the coronavirus or health precautions during the event, but most guests washed their hands regularly, two guests said. Washing hands among other parts of the body is part of Muslim worship.
Another attendee from Cambodia said guests from different countries shared plates when meals were served.
Only half of the Malaysian participants who attended have come forward for testing, the health minister has said, raising fears that the outbreak from the mosque could be more far-reaching.
Brunei has confirmed 50 cases linked to the mosque gathering, out of a total of 56 cases. Singapore has announced five linked to the event, Cambodia 13 and Thailand at least two.
Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia, which had nearly 700 of its citizens attend, are all investigating.
That a large religious pilgrimage should have gone ahead, at a time when the epidemic had killed 2,700 people and was spreading from Italy to Iran, has drawn criticism.
More than 182,000 people have now been infected by the coronavirus globally and 7,165 have died.
'IRRESPONSIBLE'
"That Tablighi event in KL (Kuala Lumpur) … could also cause a regional spike and it was irresponsible Read More – Source
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