Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
As Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases climb, we all have to take the safety precautions seriously, as the preservation of life is one of the essential priorities in the objectives of the Shariah after religion.
Answering your question, Sheikh Kifah Mustapha, the Imam and Director of The Prayer Center of Orland Park and representative for Dar El Fatwa of Lebanon in the US, states:
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Cases on the Rise
As I am writing this response to the question posted, the number of cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worldwide is almost 22 millions with more than 775,000 deaths. Living in the State of Illinois in the USA, we are with more than 200,000 cases and 8,000 deaths.
I have witnessed the loss of many community members and the virus touched many friends even physicians and nurses who have devoted themselves to save lives even it meant putting their own lives in risk.
As the virus started spreading back in March, many guidelines were set by the State and the CDC and it helped control the rise of the numbers of cases steadily. Places of worship were closed including mosques and many stayed home and restrictions were applied to opening businesses.
Lockdown Relaxed
But as summer was in and restrictions were eased because of the decline number of cases, people lowered their guard of protection and here we are, on the rise again.
I believe this is the case with many places around the world and I am here to remind you of the importance of keeping safety measures on the priority of daily life encounters because the virus is still real, around and deadly.
For every disease especially pandemics, we have preventive measures, medicine for cure and healing and then vaccines to make sure the disease does not affect more people or come back. So far with COVID-19 the only thing we have is the first circle of defense, preventive measures.
Preventive Measures
Let me remind you on some of the preventive measures that we learned dealing with this virus from the CDC and health professionals that we spoke and listened to:
The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person and that can be between people who are in close contact with one another or through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.
And for that, keep in mind the following:
1- Keep washing your hands
2- Avoid close contact with people
3- Wear a face cover when with others
4- Cover you coughs and sneezes.
5- Always clean and disinfect places you stay and especially surfaces.
6- Monitor your health for any symptoms especially your temperature and any respiratory issues and check with your doctor.
As COVID-19 cases climb, we all have to take the safety precautions of Coronavirus (COVID-19) seriously, as the preservation of life is one of the essential priorities in the objectives of the Shariah after religion. Allah the Almighty said;
{…and whoso gives life to a soul, shall be as if he has given life to mankind altogether.} (Al-Ma’idah 5:32)
When we are taking preventive measures for the well-being of our lives and the people around us, we are acting on the verse I just quoted and following the guidance of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Almighty Allah knows best.