Employees take Covid-19 tests before starting work in Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district on Monday. Heng Chivoan
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) under the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training advised all offices in the capital and provinces not to provide services for any individual who cannot show a Covid-19 vaccination card or certificate.
NSSF on October 10 notified owners or the management of factories, enterprises, business establishments, employees as well as members of the public that they have to show the Covid-19 vaccination card when using NSSF services. Otherwise, they will be refused assistance.
“From the day of this notice, every time you want NSSF services at our offices in the capital, provinces and districts, you have to show a Covid-19 vaccination card or certificate,” it said.
The instruction came after the Phnom Penh Municipal Hall on October 5 required people to produce vaccination cards or certificates every time they enter or exit educational institutions, malls, markets and other business establishment in the capital to improve the control of the disease.
“If any individual refuses to show a vaccination card, that person will not be allowed to enter the location and will be immediately reported to the nearest authorities,” the municipality said.
Am Sam Ath, deputy director for rights group Licadho, believed that the NSSF aimed to encourage both workers and those with NSSF cards to get vaccinated. But he said the requirement would affect access to public services, though he believed that almost all citizens have been vaccinated against Covid-19.
He said people should have equal access to public health services because those who have NSSF cards pay for them.
“The provision of public services to people, with or without vaccination cards, means people have to receive the same public health treatment, especially relating to NSSF. The people have paid for NSSF services,” he said.
According to the Ministry of Health, as of October 10, a total of 13 million people aged six and over, or 84.33 per cent of the Kingdom’s population of around 16 million, had been vaccinated against Covid-19.
