Cambodians Urged to Stay Vigilant Against COVID-19 during Holiday Season
People travel on a boulevard in front of Wat Phnom historical site in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Sept. 19, 2020. (Photo: Xinhua)
- Sao Phal Niseiy
- December 21, 2020 9:06 AM
Restrictions to remain in place as the government warns against complacency over Christmas and New Year’s Eve following no recorded cases of community transmission for six consecutive days.
PHNOM PENH--The Ministry of Health on Dec. 21 urged the general public to remain highly vigilant and to continue following health measures implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19 over the coming holidays.
“The Ministry of Health would like to appeal to all the general public, including foreign expats who are residing in Cambodia, to continue to carry out public health measures to combat the COVID-19 during the upcoming Christmas and New Year’s Eve in accordance with Prime Minister Hun Sen’s instructions,” the ministry said in a press statement.
The statement added that the ban on gatherings of more than 20 people will remain in place and people should continue wearing face masks, washing hands frequently, avoiding going out of home if not necessary, as well as avoiding closed spaces without air movement and crowded places.
It continued that business owners also are required to perform temperature checks and enforce the 1.5-meter social distancing and compulsory face mask rules.
Despite the fact that Cambodia appears to have controlled the latest outbreak of community transmission with no new local infection for six days, the statement said, infections have not slowed globally.
According to the Coronavirus Resource Center at the John Hopkins University of Medicine in United States, over 76.7 million cases of COVID-19 had been identified worldwide as of Dec. 21, with the number of death due to the disease exceeding 1.6 million.
One new case of COVID-19 was identified today, with a 55-year-old Cambodian American woman testing positive for the virus on arrival in Cambodia. She flew from the US to Cambodia via Taiwan and has since been placed under treatment at the National Center for Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control.
According to the ministry’s spokesperson Or Vandine, 43 other people onboard tested negative for the virus and have been required to follow mandatory 14-day quarantine procedures.
The latest infection has brought the coronavirus cases to 363 in total, which included 345 recoveries and no death.
