Denny Faizal, a 22-year-old university graduate, joined the Friday prayer, a weekly congregational prayer mandatory for Muslim men, in Teladan Mosque in Tebet, South Jakarta. It was his first Friday prayer in a mosque after only performing it at home since mid-March, weeks before the official implementation of the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in April amid the social distancing measures taken to curb the spread of COVID-19.

He said the mosque followed the protocols mandated by the city administration, namely body temperature check before entering the premise, assigning the 1-meter distance policy between participants and requiring them to wear a face mask. The congregations must also bring their own prayer mats and a bag to store their footwear. In addition, the sermons given before the prayer was quicker compared to normal times, he said.

“Alhamdulillah [thank God], I can perform Friday prayers again. I feel very happy,” Denny told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

“I hope that we can continue holding Friday prayers in mosques and that the PSBB will be over soon.”

Many Jakartans have also shared their experience participating in Friday prayers with the additional physical distancing measure and health protocols trough social media.

“Alhamdulillah, this afternoon I performed Friday prayer in congregation at the Masjid Raya Al-Azhar in Sentra Primer, East Jakarta. It was conducted with health protocol to prevent COVID-19 [transmission], such as maintaining physical distance, temperature checking, and requirement to wear a face mask,” Twitter user @azzam_satriawan posted on Friday.

Alhamdullilah, tadi siang saya baru saja melaksanakan ibadah Sholat Jumat secara berjamaah di Masjid Raya Al-Azhar, Sentra Primer, Jakarta Timur. Dilakukan protokol kesehatan untuk mencegah Covid-19 seperti menjaga jarak, pengecekan suhu dan wajib memakai masker saat Sholat. pic.twitter.com/QTb6e1nFjP

— Muhammad Azzam Satriawan (@azzam_satriawan) June 5, 2020

“Earlier, [I participated in] Friday prayer in the Bangka Raya area of [South] Jakarta. My temperature was checked when I entered the mosque and I was given a plastic bag to carry my footwear,” another Twitter user @naavyyk posted on Friday.

Tadi sholat jumat di wilayah Bangka Raya Jakarta, masuk halaman masjid dicek suhu dan diberi kantong plastik buat bungkus alas kaki pic.twitter.com/mQTYSxvh59

— navy' fanani (@naavyyk) June 5, 2020

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo also performed the prayer in the Baiturrahim mosque situated in the presidential palace complex.

Kompas.com also reported that Governor Anies Baswedan performed Friday prayer in the Fatahillah mosque located in the City Hall compound.

Read also: Jakarta takes risk of rebound by moving to ‘transitional’ restrictions

Some mosques in the city such as Al Azhar Mosque in South Jakarta were also packed with congregations, among them was former Vice President Jusuf Kalla who is also the chairman of the Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI), as reported by Tempo.co.

To prevent overcrowding in mosques during the weekly prayer, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) had issued a fatwa allowing the prayer to be conducted in turns in two groups, rather than the usual simultaneous prayer at noon.

Besides mosques, the Jakarta Administration has also allowed other houses of worship to operate during the transition phase.

The Jakarta archdiocese, for example, had been gearing up to open its churches by preparing a new worship protocol following the Religious Affairs Ministers’ announcement that houses of worship would be gradually reopened.

“We are making sure that our parishes are ready to follow the worship protocol,” Jakarta archdiocese secretary Adi Prajoso said in a letter issued on Wednesday.

“When the new protocol and our parishes are ready, we will gradually open the church.”