Many Hanoians continued the tradition of visiting pagodas on the first day of the Lunar New Year, sanitizing hands, wearing masks and maintaining some distance. 

The Quan Su Pagoda in downtown Hanoi welcomed devout Buddhists Friday morning, the first of day the Lunar New Year. It is a tradition that Vietnamese go to pagodas on this day to pray for peace, luck and prosperity.

However, the number of pilgrims was very small, even smaller than a normal day, let alone Tet, the most auspicious festival in Vietnam, as a result of the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak.

Inside the pagoda, every devotee wore a face mask and tried to maintain the distance recommended. Unlike normal days, when the pagoda requires everyone to leave their shoes outside the sanctum sanctorum, the devotees were allowed to keep them on, so as to keep the crowd flow going and preventing the usual gathering in a cluster as people take off their shoes.

At Phuc Khanh Pagoda in Dong Da District, notices reminding people to sanitize their hands and wear face masks were glued to all the pillars. The pagoda also switched all their meditation sessions and courses online.

Outside the pagoda, a long table was set up with hand sanitizers, the bottles placed two meters apart.

A woman keeps her face mask on while praying.

Another woman takes the precautions further, donning two face masks and a face shield.

The usual crowding of vendors on the path leading to the pagoda was also missing this Tet. This vendor sells salt in small red bags as an offering to the deities while praying for luck. The latest Covid-19 outbreak in Vietnam, which began on January 28, has so far recorded 555 community transmissions in 13 localities. It is yet to be contained.