Muslims in Pakistan and around the world are marking a second Ramazan under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic as cases in several countries surge and restrictions are tightened.

Ramazan began in most Muslim countries on Tuesday.

Observant Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk and traditionally gather with family and friends to break their fast in the evening.

However, concerns about the spread of the virus and tightened restrictions in several countries, including Egypt, Iran, and Turkey, meant that people were unable to mark Ramazan in the traditional way.

A day earlier, the World Health Organisation (WHO) expressed concern that the Covid-19 pandemic could worsen in the Middle East and North Africa during Ramazan.

Detected cases of Covid infection in the region rose 22 per cent last week, while deaths rose 17pc, said Ahmed al-Mandhari, the Cairo-based chief of the WHO for the eastern Mediterranean.

Mandhari said the situation in the vast region reflects a “worrying trend”.

“We are especially worried that the current situation may worsen during Ramazan if people don't follow and adhere to the proven social measures that work,” he told an online news conference.

Header image: Indonesian Muslims pray spaced apart as they practice social distancing to curb the spread of the new coronavirus at Agung Al Barkah mosque in Bekasi, Indonesia. — AP