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A Palestinian youth wearing a protective mask walk in front of the closed Mosque of al-Omari in Gaza City on April 20, 2020, as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic lingers ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a period for both self reflection and socialising. Believers fast from dawn to dusk and then gather around a family or community meal each evening of Islam's holiest month, which begins later this week and ends with Eid al-Fitr festivities. But this year, the fast-spreading novel coronavirus threatens to dampen Ramadan like never before, with millions locked down across the Middle East. / AFP / MAHMUD HAMS
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A man checks Ramadan decorations ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at a shop during a countrywide lockdown over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Beirut, Lebanon April 17, 2020. Picture taken April 17, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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A worker and a man carry grocery bags during a nationwide curfew to stem the spread of COVID-19, as they leave a supermarket in the Saudi capital Riyadh on April 9, 2020 ahead of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. From cancelled iftar feasts to suspended mosque prayers, Muslims across the Middle East are bracing for a bleak month of Ramadan fasting as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic lingers. Ramadan is a period for both self reflection and socialising. Believers fast from dawn to dusk and then gather around a family or community meal each evening of Islam's holiest month, which begins later this week and ends with Eid al-Fitr festivities. / AFP / FAYEZ NURELDINE
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Iranians shop at the Grand Bazaar market in the capital Tehran on April 20, 2020, as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic lingers ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a period for both self reflection and socialising. Believers fast from dawn to dusk and then gather around a family or community meal each evening of Islam's holiest month, which begins later this week and ends with Eid al-Fitr festivities. But this year, the fast-spreading novel coronavirus threatens to dampen Ramadan like never before, with millions locked down across the Middle East. / AFP / ATTA KENARE
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Volunteers fill up carton boxes with food items to be distributed to needy Palestinian families, ahead of the Ramadan fasting month, in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, on April 19, 2020. / AFP / JAAFAR ASHTIYEH
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An Egyptian seller checks dates at his shop stall ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, amid concerns over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Cairo, Egypt, April 12, 2020. Picture taken April 12, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
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An elderly man wears a face mask as he walks past a shop selling Ramadan items ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, during a countrywide lockdown over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Beirut, Lebanon April 17, 2020. Picture taken April 17, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a protective face mask amid concerns over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) buys traditional Ramadan lanterns, called "fanous" at a stall, ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt, April 12, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
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A Palestinian man, wearing personal protective equipment as a precaution against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, prepares a crescent and star ornament in the West Bank city of Hebron on April 18, 2020, ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. / AFP / HAZEM BADER
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FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a protective face mask amid concerns over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) buys traditional Ramadan lanterns, called "fanous" at a stall, ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt, April 12, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
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A man puts Ramadan decorations on a street ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, during a countrywide lockdown over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Beirut, Lebanon April 19, 2020. Picture taken April 19, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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People wearing protective face masks, amid concerns over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), shop traditional Ramadan products which are displayed for sale at Al Khayamia street in old Cairo, Egypt April 16, 2020. Picture taken April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
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Yemenis shop in the old city market of the capital Sanaa ahead of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, on April 18, 2020. From cancelled iftar feasts to suspended mosque prayers, Muslims across the Middle East are bracing for a bleak month of Ramadan fasting as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic lingers. Ramadan is a period for both self reflection and socialising. Believers fast from dawn to dusk and then gather around a family or community meal each evening of Islam's holiest month, which begins later this week and ends with Eid al-Fitr festivities. / AFP / Mohammed HUWAIS
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Iranians shop at the Grand Bazaar market in the capital Tehran on April 20, 2020, as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic lingers ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a period for both self reflection and socialising. Believers fast from dawn to dusk and then gather around a family or community meal each evening of Islam's holiest month, which begins later this week and ends with Eid al-Fitr festivities. But this year, the fast-spreading novel coronavirus threatens to dampen Ramadan like never before, with millions locked down across the Middle East. / AFP / ATTA KENARE
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An Egyptian seller waits for customers at her dates shop stall ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, amid concerns over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Cairo, Egypt, April 12, 2020. Picture taken April 12, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
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Iranians shop at the Grand Bazaar market in the capital Tehran on April 20, 2020, as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic lingers ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a period for both self reflection and socialising. Believers fast from dawn to dusk and then gather around a family or community meal each evening of Islam's holiest month, which begins later this week and ends with Eid al-Fitr festivities. But this year, the fast-spreading novel coronavirus threatens to dampen Ramadan like never before, with millions locked down across the Middle East. / AFP / ATTA KENARE
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Iranians shop at the Grand Bazaar market in the capital Tehran on April 20, 2020, as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic lingers ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a period for both self reflection and socialising. Believers fast from dawn to dusk and then gather around a family or community meal each evening of Islam's holiest month, which begins later this week and ends with Eid al-Fitr festivities. But this year, the fast-spreading novel coronavirus threatens to dampen Ramadan like never before, with millions locked down across the Middle East. / AFP / ATTA KENARE
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A boy wears a protective mask as he looks through a window near decorations for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, during a countrywide lockdown to combat the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Sidon, Lebanon April 19, 2020. Picture taken April 19, 2020. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho
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Egyptians look at traditional lanterns known in Arabic as "Fanous" sold during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Cairo's Sayeda Zainab neighbourhood, on April 19, 2020. From cancelled iftar feasts to suspended mosque prayers, Muslims across the Middle East are bracing for a bleak month of Ramadan fasting as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic lingers. Ramadan is a period for both self reflection and socialising. Believers fast from dawn to dusk and then gather around a family or community meal each evening of Islam's holiest month, which begins later this week and ends with Eid al-Fitr festivities. / AFP / Mohamed el-Shahed
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An Egyptian woman walks by traditional lanterns known in Arabic as "Fanous" sold during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Cairo's Sayeda Zainab neighbourhood, on April 19, 2020. From cancelled iftar feasts to suspended mosque prayers, Muslims across the Middle East are bracing for a bleak month of Ramadan fasting as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic lingers. Ramadan is a period for both self reflection and socialising. Believers fast from dawn to dusk and then gather around a family or community meal each evening of Islam's holiest month, which begins later this week and ends with Eid al-Fitr festivities. / AFP / Mohamed el-Shahed
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Iranians leave the Grand Bazaar market in the capital Tehran on April 20, 2020, as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic lingers ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a period for both self reflection and socialising. Believers fast from dawn to dusk and then gather around a family or community meal each evening of Islam's holiest month, which begins later this week and ends with Eid al-Fitr festivities. But this year, the fast-spreading novel coronavirus threatens to dampen Ramadan like never before, with millions locked down across the Middle East. / AFP / ATTA KENARE
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An Iranian woman walks at the Grand Bazaar market in the capital Tehran on April 20, 2020, as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic lingers ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a period for both self reflection and socialising. Believers fast from dawn to dusk and then gather around a family or community meal each evening of Islam's holiest month, which begins later this week and ends with Eid al-Fitr festivities. But this year, the fast-spreading novel coronavirus threatens to dampen Ramadan like never before, with millions locked down across the Middle East. / AFP / ATTA KENARE
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Iranians shop at the Grand Bazaar market in the capital Tehran on April 20, 2020, as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic lingers ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a period for both self reflection and socialising. Believers fast from dawn to dusk and then gather around a family or community meal each evening of Islam's holiest month, which begins later this week and ends with Eid al-Fitr festivities. But this year, the fast-spreading novel coronavirus threatens to dampen Ramadan like never before, with millions locked down across the Middle East. / AFP / ATTA KENARE
