allocated to the elderly. The Inspection Department also visited construction sites and ensured that the workers there abided by the precautionary measures. 121. In continuing to implement the Royal Directives through the financial and economic package to mitigate the repercussions of the coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic on citizens and the national economy, and in support of national efforts, and in the framework of cooperation and coordination with the legislative authority, the government decided to cover electricity, water bills and municipal fees, for all first time homeowner citizen subscribers, for a period of three months, starting October 2020, provided they don’t exceed the bills for the same period of the previous year for each subscriber. 122. In a related context, the Council of Ministers directed the Central Bank of Bahrain to urge all banks to postpone loan payments to citizens affected by the coronavirus pandemic until the end of this year in a manner that does not affect the banks’ liquidity and solvency. 123. In the same framework, the Inspection Department of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism also sought to verify the compliance of shops with the specified prices following the issuance of a series of decisions by His Excellency the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism during the months of March and April 2020, with the aim of strengthening preventive and precautionary measures, by setting prices for hand sanitizers and disinfectants, as well as medical masks. 124. In this context, the NIHR values the Royal Directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa - may God protect and preserve him - to launch the financial and economic package providing necessary liquidity to the private sector to deal with the effects of the pandemic, and to direct the government to ensure the payment of electricity and water bills for all subscribers, individuals and companies, exempting government industrial lands from paying rents, doubling the size of the liquidity fund, exempting touristic establishments and facilities from paying tourism fees, and other directives of His Majesty in support of national efforts to confront the coronavirus (COVID-19) at the local level, in a manner that preserves the health of and safety of citizens and residents. f. The right to practice religious rites during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic 125. With regard to exercising the right to perform religious rites, and based on what was issued by the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs regarding the gradual return to practicing of mass worships within the necessary regulations and precautionary measures, and in compliance with what was stated in the decisions and instructions issued by the competent authorities in the Kingdom regarding the precautionary measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), and based on the recommendations of the National Medical Team dealing with the coronavirus, the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments decided to gradually open mosques, for NIHR Bahrain- Eighth Annual Report 2020 43