A monk beats a drum at Botum Kongkea Pagoda – also known as Bak Kheng Pagoda – across the Tonle Sap river in eastern Phnom Penh’s Chroy Changvar district. Prime Minister Hun Sen has requested that all pagodas ring bells and beat drums at the same time, five times per day, as a way to remind people to stay vigilant and follow precautionary health measures. Hong Menea
Minister of Health Mam Bun Heng on March 24 issued a directive mandating that people wear face masks and maintain distancing in the capital and four provinces as the government seeks to contain the ongoing outbreak of Covid-19.
“Phnom Penh and the provinces of Preah Sihanouk, Kandal, Prey Veng, and Siem Reap are Covid-19 hotspots linked to the February 20 community transmission, so face masks and social and physical distancing in these areas are a must,” he said.
The decision was made in conjunction with a prakas issued on March 22 detailing such preventive measures amid the February 20 outbreak, which has seen cases rise to nearly 1,300 as of March 24. The directive, Bun Heng said, takes effects from March 24 until further notice.
This followed a government sub-decree on March 12 on health measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and other contagious diseases.
According to Article 19 of the sub-decree, anyone caught not wearing a mask in locations designated by the health ministry faces a fine of between 200,000 and one million riel ($50 and $250) after the first warning.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hun Sen took to social media on March 24 thanking people for following the health ministry’s preventive measures and for their patience and understanding.
He also reiterated call for the public to stay indoors and refrain from travelling – or wear a mask, maintain distancing and wash hands frequently otherwise – amid the ongoing community outbreak.
The prime minister also requested that all pagodas throughout the country ring bells and beat drums at the same time – five times per day at 5am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm and 8pm – as a way to remind people to stay vigilant and follow precautionary health measures.
The simultaneous bell ringing and drumming, he said, should continue until the February 20 outbreak ends.
Re Sath, the Kesararam pagoda chief monk in Siem Reap province, said ringing bells and beating drums are an ancient Khmer tradition. Monks and other Buddhists have traditionally used this practice to alert villagers that something bad was happening.
“Doing this will symbolically chase away bad things and also celebrate achievements and successes in the local villages and at the pagoda as well,” he said.
On March 24, the ministry reported 29 new cases of Covid-19, all but two of which were linked to the February 20 outbreak, bringing the country’s third community transmission cases to 1,293 with 527 recoveries.
