Deep Learning Based Face Mask Detection in Religious Mass Gathering During COVID-19 Pandemic

Notwithstanding the religious intention of billions of devotees, the religious mass gathering increased major public health concerns since it likely became a huge super spreading event for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Most attendees ignored preventive measures, namely maintaining physical distance, practising hand hygiene, and wearing facemasks. Wearing a face mask in public areas protects people from spreading COVID-19. Artificial intelligence (AI) based on deep learning (DL) and machine learning (ML) could assist in fighting covid-19 in several ways. This study introduces a new deep learning-based Face Mask Detection in Religious Mass Gathering (DLFMD-RMG) technique during the COVID-19 pandemic. The DLFMD-RMG technique focuses mainly on detecting face masks in a religious mass gathering. To accomplish this, the presented DLFMD-RMG technique undergoes two pre-processing levels: Bilateral Filtering (BF) and Contrast Enhancement. For face detection, the DLFMD-RMG technique uses YOLOv5 with a ResNet-50 detector. In addition, the face detection performance can be improved by the seeker optimization algorithm (SOA) for tuning the hyperparameter of the ResNet-50 module, showing the novelty of the work. At last, the faces with and without masks are classified using the Fuzzy Neural Network (FNN) model. The stimulation study of the DLFMD-RMG algorithm is examined on a benchmark dataset. The results highlighted the remarkable performance of the DLFMD-RMG model algorithm in other recent approaches. © 2023 CRL Publishing. All rights reserved.

Hajj in the Time of COVID-19.

The recent outbreak of the novel COVID-19 is posing a severe public health risk across the globe. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is one of the greatest destinations of religious congregations of Muslims. One of the largest religious gatherings is the Hajj that is anticipated to produce serious challenges of mass level exposures and spread to every corner of the world. Therefore, it is highly recommended that the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah (KSA), must regularly analyze the prevailing situation of COVID-19, and involve the religious scholars to make appropriate decisions about Hajj 2020. Although the Saudi government has been continuously taking all possible measures to contain the pandemic, people's cooperation is crucial in the fight against COVID-19.