"Monks"

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has conducted a vaccination drive to cover monks, temple staff and officials of other religions, such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism, at the vaccination centre in SCG Bang Sue headquarters on Sunday.

In a bid to prevent infection clusters in temples, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) had vaccines administered to monks and temple staff in 221 monasteries in Bangkok’s Thonburi area on Friday.

Photos of Buddhist monks wearing PPE (personal protective equipment) suits while chanting at a funeral have gone viral on social media since last week.

Monks of central Bangkok’s famed Wat Traimit Withayaram Worawihan (Traimit Temple) and temples nearby were vaccinated against Covid-19 by a Public Health Ministry mobile vaccination unit on Wednesday.

Three Thai monks residing at a Buddhist temple in Las Vegas, Nevada, have contracted Covid-19, the Royal Thai consulate-general in Los Angeles confirmed yesterday (July 28).

Prime Minister’s Office Minister Thewan Liptapanlop said on Thursday (May 28) that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has assigned him the job of helping Buddhist temples nationwide that have been affected by the Covid-19 crisis and lockdown measures.

TWO FORMER senior monks have been sentenced to prison terms for laundering state-provided temple funds.

Police deported three monks back to their home country of Cambodia this week after the monks reportedly stood outside a local resident’s home in Si Sa Ket province on numerous occasions this week so as to pressure the homeowner to make cash donations to them.

Three monks were killed and two others injured along with a lay follower and a driver when their van crashed against roadside trees in Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Thap Sakae district on Tuesday morning, police say.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan has urged security officials on the ground to exercise the utmost restraint following several attacks targeting Buddhist monks and officials in the southernmost province of Narathiwat last week.

Human Rights Watch on Saturday said the deadly attack on civilians in a place of worship in Narathiwat province is a war crime.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has condemned the latest violence in Narathiwat in which two monks were gunned down and some others injured on Friday night.