Hanoi (VNA) – Religious communities in Vietnam havebeen asked to step up COVID-19 prevention and control measures amid complexdevelopments of the pandemic around the world.

Head of the Government’s Committee for ReligiousAffairs Vu Chien Thang said the committee has called on leaders of 43 religiousorganisations and the boards for religious affairs of provinces and citiesnationwide to seriously comply with the Prime Minister’s direction as well aslocal authorities’ guidance to curb the spread of the disease.

He noted the committee requested the CatholicChurch in Vietnam to step up preventive measures like suspending or cancellingmass rituals, meetings and pilgrimages while taking actions to protect thecommunity’s health if there are any followers with fever and cough symptoms.

President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference ofVietnam Nguyen Chi Linh affirmed that dioceses across the country have been requestednot to gather followers in crowds at churches and disinfect some places ofworship that attract a large number of foreign visitors.

Meanwhile, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha haveordered temples to halt festivals and crowded training courses, encouragedfollowers to wear face masks and wash hands before visiting pagodas, anddistributed leaflets with disease-related information to monks, nuns andfollowers.

Other religious organisations and sects likethose of Protestantism, Islam, Baha’i Faith, Hoahaoism, Caodaism have alsosuspended major activities, provided face masks and hand sanitizer tofollowers, worked to disseminate precise information about the disease,according to Thang.

The official noted from February 27 to March 1,an Islamic event was held at Seri Petaling Mosque in Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia,gathering about 16,000 Muslims from some countries, including Vietnam.

He cited the Malaysian Ministry of Health assaying that as of March 14, this country had found some 4,900 participants inthe event, more than 1,600 of whom have shown respiratory infection symptoms.

Some 90 Muslims from the provinces of An Giang,Tay Ninh, Ninh Thuan and Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam were reportedto have taken part in this event, and one of them in Ninh Thuan was tested positivefor SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Thang added the Committee for Religious Affairshas requested authorities and the representative boards of Muslim communitiesin those localities to review the people who joined the event in Malaysia andinstruct them to self-quarantine, make health declarations and visit healthcareestablishments for testing./.