Nuns, priests, monks and volunteers from other religions have taken part in a government programme to combat the pandemic. They were sent to hospitals to support health personnel. Yesterday, more than 7,000 new cases of infection were recorded.
Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews) - Vietnam's religious have also taken up the call to help combat the Covid-19 epidemic. Yesterday 299 nuns, priests and volunteers of other religions took part in a government programme to combat the pandemic; after initial training the authorities assigned them to health facilities in Ho Chi Minh City.
At least 214 are now in the intensive care unit of the city hospital, while the other 85 have been transferred to emergency hospitals in Thủ Đức City. "The participation of 299 volunteer religious will help us defeat this pandemic," said Tô Thị Bích Châu, chairman of the Homeland Front Committee.
Speaking to local newspapers, Sister Lien, of the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary, said, "We are so honoured to be able to contribute as Catholic religious to the prevention and control programme. This also tells us a lot about the solidarity of the Vietnamese people to unite and help their brothers and sisters in difficulty".
The government press also commented on the initiative: "All the monks and nuns showed a great spirit of determination in carrying out this heavy task. Volunteers are important to make even a small contribution to the 'front line forces', the doctors, nurses, health personnel, to protect the health of the people and defeat the pandemic".
Some sisters explained to AsiaNews that "this is an excellent opportunity for Catholic religious to carry out the mission of our consecrated vocation. We pray for the people on the front line and for all the Vietnamese people so that they may emerge from the crisis as soon as possible".
Yesterday in Vietnam there was a peak of 7,125 new cases. At the moment there are more than 78,000 infected, of which about 50,000 in Ho Chi Minh alone.