Leaders advocate memorial ceremony for Covid-19 victims

The ceremony will be held online.

SGGP Newspaper published the opinions of leaders of Ho Chi Minh City, leaders of southern provinces and cities on organizing the memorial ceremony under the direction of the President of the National Assembly.

Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai said that after being approved by the Central Government, Ho Chi Minh City has developed a plan to hold a memorial ceremony for the deceased people due to the coronavirus.

A memorial service will be held to remember the lives of people lost during the pandemic as well as to be dedicated to the families who lost loved ones due to the epidemic. The ceremony is expected to warm bereaved families' hearts, said Mr. Mai.

Chairman Mai also emphasized that this memorial ceremony is to remind everyone that natural disasters and epidemics can happen at any time, so we need to increase awareness of disasters and pandemics. He added that Ho Chi Minh City is the epicenter of the epidemic and has been affected the most, so recently the city has actively prepared to hold a memorial ceremony for the deceased people during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Specifically, the city has sent its proposal of the memorial ceremony to the Central Committee who asked the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front to work with the southern metropolis to organize a national memorial ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City connecting with other localities.

The memorial ceremony held in districts will be screened live on television. During the memorial ceremony, there will be pictures and footage of Ho Chi Minh City through the "life and death battle" with the Covid-19 pandemic, city leader's speech. In addition to the general ceremony, the organizers will light lamps, light candles, release lanterns, arrange flowers, and ring bells at pagodas and churches, or blow whistles at ports in different districts.

Secretary of the Ben Tre Provincial Party Committee Le Duc Tho said that after the National Assembly gave the green light to the organization of memorial ceremony, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has worked with localities across the country to hold a memorial ceremony for those who died because of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to him, organizing a memorial ceremony is a good opinion while the country is trying hard to prevent and control the Covid-19 epidemic to bring life back to the new normal.

Secretary of the Dong Nai Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Hong Linh said that right the beginning, he strongly supported the proposal of the SGGP Newspaper on organizing a memorial ceremony for victims of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He added that at the questioning session of the second session of the 15th National Assembly, National Assembly Chairwoman Vuong Dinh Hue emphasized that the Party and State leaders had assigned the Vietnam Fatherland Front, Ho Chi Minh City, and provinces to organize a memorial ceremony for Covid-19 victims in the southern largest city and southern provinces online. This is a very humane and necessary deed to remind people of the sad days of the country.

As of November 12, Dong Nai Province had 76,600 people infected with Covid-19 and had 610 deaths.

In his opinion, Chairman Vu Van Minh of the People's Committee in the Southern Province of Binh Duong said that the province has been hit badly by the coronavirus. SGGP Newspaper has proposed for a memorial day for deceased people during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the National Assembly Chairman has directed for good organization of the ceremony. Binh Duong Province has recorded more than 241,500 cases of Covid-19 including over 2,500 deaths.

Worse, lots of medical staff died of the disease during taking care of patients. Therefore, the province will surely hold a memorial ceremony to share the pain with bereaved families.