Cambodia has cancelled its “Festival of the Dead” — an annual holiday where the Buddhist faithful pay respects to deceased relatives — after a coronavirus outbreak among monks in the capital, AFP reports.

This year's observance began on Tuesday but will come to an early end on the weekend after nearly 50 Buddhist monks tested positive for the coronavirus and authorities locked down their temple in Phnom Penh.

The festival cancellation was “necessary to control the spread of Covid-19 [...] at the time that Cambodia is reopening schools and is planning to reopen the country," Prime Minister Hun Sen said in a statement.