Ensuring safety against COVID-19 at monuments

– In the early days of the year of the Tiger in 2022, the relics and scenic spots in the province have attracted a large number of tourists from all over the world to enjoy the spring and visit pagodas and temples. To ensure safety, the culture, sports and tourism sector and related units have strengthened measures to prevent and control the COVID-19 epidemic.

Bac Le Temple, Tan Thanh Commune, Huu Lung District is one of the typical relic sites that has well performed epidemic prevention and control work at the beginning of this year. From January 1 to 8, the temple welcomed over 16,000 visitors. Every day, the Management Board propagates the content of epidemic prevention and control on loudspeakers, measures body temperature and requires 100% of visitors entering the temple to disinfect their hands and wear masks; spray disinfection of the relic and every three days, the Management Board implements quick COVID-19 testing for more than 20 members of the Management Board and sales households around the temple. Especially, on the 3^rd day of the Lunar New Year, due to the high number of visitors, the Temple Management Board coordinated with the medical force to organize rapid COVID-19 test for more than 2,000 visitors.

Medical staff disinfected hands for visitors coming to worship at Ta Phu Temple relic, Hoang Van Thu ward, Lang Son city

Mr. Trinh Dinh Hoan, a tourist from Thanh Binh ward, Hai Duong city said that on the 3^rd day of the Lunar New Year, his family visited Bac Le Temple. Here, he saw that the functional forces control the epidemic very well. In particular, the Management Board also took samples from his family for rapid COVID-19 test. After there were negative results, his family continued to attend the ceremony. With these ways, his family can safely go to the temple ceremony.

Currently, in the province, there are more than 150 historical, architectural and artistic relics such as communal houses, temples and pagodas. According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in order to prevent and control the epidemic, not only Bac Le Temple but also all relic sites have fully implemented measures to prevent and control the COVID-19 epidemic, further inspecting other monuments such as Dong Dang Mother Goddess Temple, Bac Nga Pagoda (Cao Loc district), Tan Thanh Pagoda (Van Lang district), Thanh Pagoda, Ky Cung – Ta Phu Temple (Lang Son City).. the Department has found that the monuments are all disinfecting sprays, giving free masks, propagandizing epidemic prevention and control on loudspeakers, arranging guides for people and tourists to carry out the 5K message and so on.

Venerable Thich Quang Truyen, Standing Deputy Head of the Executive Board of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Lang Son province, Abbot of Thanh Pagoda said that from the beginning of the new year until now, the pagoda has received an average of 200 visitors per day. In order to ensure the safety of people and visitors, the Pagoda has strictly implemented the regulations on epidemic prevention and control such as disinfecting the entire pagoda area before the Lunar New Year; equipped with 200 bottles of disinfectant solutions, 2,000 facial masks, four propaganda boards. Simultaneously, there is propaganda on the loudspeaker system twice a day; the Pagoda arranges ten members to regularly guide and remind visitors to take measures to prevent and control the epidemic when coming to the pagoda.

The delegation of the Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism inspected the COVID-19 prevention and control at Tien Pagoda relic, Chi Lang ward, Lang Son city

It is known that in order to ensure the safety of people when they come to pilgrimage and worship at relics at the beginning of the year, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has implemented many key tasks. Mr. Nguyen Phuc Ha, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that right from the beginning of January 2022, the Department has issued plans and documents guiding functional agencies and units to carry out epidemic prevention and control work at the relics; request the management board of monuments to stop organizing the festival part, shorten the ceremony, strengthen environmental sanitation, spray disinfectant and disinfect the relic sites and well implement disease prevention and control measures. On this occasion, the Department has edited documents to strengthen propaganda measures to prevent and control the COVID-19 epidemic and sent them to the culture, information and media centers of 11 districts and the city to record and send them to relic sites to broadcast on loudspeakers. Along with that, from February 8 to now, the Department has organized three teams to inspect the implementation of regulations on COVID-19 prevention and control during festival activities at 15 relics in ten districts and the city…The inspection shows that the relics have been properly implementing anti-epidemic measures.

At the same time, right from the beginning of January 2022, the culture and information divisions of districts and the city have issued plans to strictly manage and prevent the risk of disease outbreaks in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic at the relic sites such as asking the relic sites to prepare two to six propaganda boards on epidemic prevention and control and have enough disinfectant solutions, facial masks, QR codes for medical declarations…Also on the occasions before, during and after the 2022 Lunar New Year, the authorities have actively propagated the integration of epidemic prevention and control on the grassroots loudspeaker system twice a day at 1,000 speaker clusters at communes, wards, townships and so on.

With the methods and efforts of the relevant agencies and units, the people’s high awareness in epidemic prevention and control, it is hoped that in the early spring of this year, the relics in Lang Son will continue to be a safe destination for residents and visitors.