Cambodian PM says COVID-19 hits almost half of Buddhist pagodas in capital

In Phnom Penh, the COVID-19 tests results of the monks and laypeople at all pagodas showed that almost half of them was infected after the celebration of the 15-day traditional Pchum Ben festival.

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Saturday that the COVID-19 has hit almost half of the Buddhist pagodas here in the capital city. "Yesterday, medical teams took samples from Buddhist monks and laypeople at all the pagodas in Phnom Penh for testing. As a result, COVID-19 cases had been found in almost half of the pagodas," he said in a voice message released publicly.

There are 151 Buddhist pagodas in the capital city, according to the Ministry of Cults and Religions. Hun Sen said the Southeast Asian nation has more than 4,000 pagodas across the country and the samples of monks and laypeople outside Phnom Penh have not yet been collected for COVID-19 testing.

COVID-19 outbreaks at pagodas occurred after Buddhists began to celebrate the 15-day traditional Pchum Ben festival, or honoring-the-dead festival, on Wednesday. In a bid to contain the spread of the virus, the government on Friday decided to suspend the festival, warning that any large gatherings at pagodas could put the country at high risk of a large-scale outbreak of COVID-19, particularly its highly contagious Delta variant.

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