Ministry of Health spokeswoman Or Vandine confirmed that there had been no official decision whether to waive quarantine requirements for inbound Thai citizens and travellers from other countries.

For the time being, she said, all inbound passengers, both Cambodians and foreign nationals, must follow Cambodia's Covid-19 preventive measures and guidelines.

“We have an inter-ministerial committee that is tasked with combating Covid-19 and deciding on pandemic-related matter, and we need to receive an instruction from Samdech Prime Minister [Hun Sen] first.

"What matters now is a discussion on procedures and guidelines before we refer them to Samdech prime minister for a decision," Vandine said while handing over Cambodia's donation of 200,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses to Vietnam on October 29.

Before lifting quarantine requirements, she added, the committee needs to take into account the experiences and Covid-19 development in Cambodia. Although Cambodia has achieved high rates of vaccinations, people have to maintain vigilance as vaccine alone will not prevent a person from contracting the coronavirus, she said.

She urged those who have been fully vaccinated to adjust their lives to the new normal and adhere to preventive measures including the three dos and three don'ts in order to prevent a large-scale outbreak.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said at the Cabinet plenary meeting last week that Cambodia may enter into a reciprocal agreement with Thailand and remove quarantine requirements for inbound travellers coming from there.

“If Thailand wants to implement this policy – then so will Cambodia – under the principle of reciprocation, so that when we go to Thailand we will not be required to quarantine and when the Thais come to Cambodia they won’t be required to quarantine either.

“So then we could start flying tourists over from Thailand to visit Cambodia when we already have the principle established and one visa can cover both countries,” he said.