According to Senior Venerable Thích Trí Minh, Vice Chairman of the provincial Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS)’s Executive Committee, the VBS chapter in the province has issued a dispatch to the district-level VBS’s sub-committee asking for temporarily postponing religious ceremonies and training courses gathering large numbers of people. Accordingly, local Buddhists are advised to perform prayers at their home and maintain a minimum distance of 2m during religious ceremonies at pagodas.

So far, the VBS Chapter in the province has donated over 200 million VND for supporting the Covid-19 preventive efforts. Local pagodas of Linh Phong, Hoa Nghiem, etc have presented necessities, facemasks, and bottles of antiseptic solution to people in the province, and restarted these charitable initiatives in the context of the new outbreak of the epidemic.

According to Vice Chairman of the provincial Catholic solidarity committee Dương Văn Tuệ, Buon Me Thuan diocese has announced a temporary halt of masses at all churches. Holy ceremonies of the diocese would be broadcast online.

Washing hands by antiseptic solution while going to Sa Tu Khai Doan pagoda

Pastor Lemous Philemol, Head of the Protestant representative committee in the province said that the committee has managed 335 evangelical churches and congregations by Zalo social network and email. When local authorities issue new instructions and documents, the committee will share them immediately to local evangelical churches. The committee has also advised local people to install BLUEZONE software to detect people nearby that have made contacts with Covid-19 patients, as well as well implement preventive measures against the pandemic.

The evangelical churches of Buon Knia (Buon Don district) and Phuoc An (Krong Pak district) have also presented facemask and medical items to local people.

Up to now, Dak Lak province has recorded three positive cases of SARS-CoV-2. and the Department of Home Affairs has issued a document to local religious organizations urging for adjustments of religious services and strengthened measures for Covid-19 prevention and control, as well as asked followers returning from the pandemic areas to provide information on their health situation and self-isolation at their home.

Dak Lak province is currently home to over 600,000 followers belong to four religions of Catholicism, Buddhism, Protestantism and Caodaism, accounting for 32% the provincial population.

PH (vietnamplus.vn)