MANAMA — Prayers at mosques, collective worship, and religious assemblies will remain suspended in Bahrain until the rate of the coronavirus drops to the levels set by the competent authorities, the country’s Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs said on Tuesday in a statement carried by Bahrain News Agency. The highest religious council in the kingdom has been conducting bimonthly reviews of its decisions related to the impact of the virus on religious matters. The decision to extend the suspension was taken following consultations between the council and the medical taskforce, the minister of justice, Islamic affairs and endowments and the heads of the Sunni and Jaafari endowments, according to the statement. Gatherings and direct contacts are keeping the spread of coronavirus high and have therefore hindered the health situation from rising above the level that would allow the council to re-open mosques and places of worship and permit religious crowds, the statement added. "Therefore, and based on its religious responsibility, on the Shariah enjoinments to protect lives and not to expose them to danger or to pandemics, and on the recommendations of the competent medical authorities, the council announces that prayers in mosques, collective worship and religious gatherings will remain suspended," the statement concluded.