Prime Minister Hun Sen said the number of Covid-19 cases has reached a level beyond the capacity of hospitals designated to treat Covid-19 patients, with more than 1,000 cases reported in just over two days.

To address the issue, the government has introduced Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for treating patients with mild symptoms at their home. The government has also decided to turn Koh Pich Convention and Exhibition Centre in Phnom Penh into a treatment facility which could admit around 5,000 patients.

“I've requested oknha Pung Khieu Se to provide the Koh Pich covention centre as a facility to treat mild, asympomatic patients. He not only provide the venue, but also all the buildings previously used for wedding reception,” Hun Sen said.

He said Phnom Penh municipal governor Khuong Sreng had just converted a high school into a treatment facility while one of his sons is preparing another place.

Meanwhile, Hun Sen suggested that Minister of Justice Koeut Rith works with the courts to prosecute any individual who breaks quarantine measures.

“If the authority arrests any violator tonight, a trial can start tomorrow. I'm not instructing the courts, but just ordering the justice minister to work with them,” he said.

Hun Sen suggested that protective suits should be prepared for judges to conduct hearings in such cases.

If any violator also tested positive, that individual must shall be prosecuted in accordance with the law, he said, referring to violators who might have transmitted the virus to others.