A cluster of famous temples and pagodas in Hanoi that has recorded 23 community transmissions during the country's latest Covid-19 wave were left deserted just days before Tet. 

On Feb. 4, contrary to the usual busy scene, the road leading to Tay Ho Temple (Phu Tay Ho) in Tay Ho District, a popular place of worship for devout Buddhists and a tourist attraction, was quiet.

Some shops were closed while parking lots were empty. Without pilgrimages, many calligraphy masters came home early, with only four left out on the street.

Calligraphy master Tran Duy Vinh said every year-end the temple is crowded with people making ritual offerings to pray for prosperity.

Hanoi residents have been asked to stay home and limit travel during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday (Tet) as a Covid-19 precaution.

No large crowds inside the temple as per usual.

Tran Quoc Pagoda, a top tourist attraction in Hanoi, faces the same plight.

Tran Quoc Pagoda, nearly 1,500 years old, in Tay Ho District stands on a small peninsula on the eastern side of West Lake and is the oldest pagoda in Hanoi.

Adding to its architectural beauty and historical significance is a bodhi tree said to have grown from the original tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment in India.

Some devout residents in face masks burn incense inside Tran Quoc Pagoda.

A woman wearing a face mask prays inside Quan Su Pagoda in Hoan Kiem District.

Vendors outside Quan Su Pagoda are glued to their phones as there are no customers. They said in previous years, the pagoda was crowded around Tet.

"Many people have gone back to their hometown for fears of a wider outbreak, so few come to the temple," said a vendor.

Similar to Quan Su Pagoda, Ba Dinh District's Quan Thanh Temple at the end of Thanh Nien Street is desolate.

Quan Thanh Temple was built in 1010, to worship Huyen Thien Tran Vu, one of the four gods guarding the four gates of Thang Long Citadel.

Since Jan. 28, Vietnam has been experiencing a new outbreak of Covid-18 community transmissions with 394 cases confirmed in at least 12 cities and provinces so far.