Prime Minister Hun Sen on February 28 announced an end to his quarantine period after having been directly exposed to the coronavirus. The premier isolated himself as the number of Omicron community cases in the country had risen to nearly 9,000 as of February 28.
“After a re-test, I was found to be negative for Covid-19. I have to finish the quarantine and then I will return to work as normal,” he said in a Facebook post.
Hun Sen announced self-isolation on the night of February 25, the day after he met with Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob during an official visit to Cambodia.
“I had direct contact with a Covid-infected person. As a precaution, I decided to quarantine for a short time. I will live separately but still continue working as I used to like in the previous three quarantines,” he said without identifying the person.
Hun Sen went into quarantine but stopped short of cancelling any scheduled programmes and remained active and working as usual.
Separately on February 28, the Ministry of Health reported another 342 Omicron community cases, bringing the total to 8,956.
In the face of rising Omicron cases, Hun Sen has laid out some important principles for relevant institutions and the public to continue to work together to implement health measures to stave off the virus.
“We have to continue to push for Covid-19 vaccinations which are key ... coupled with preventive measures including the three dos and three don’ts guidelines as well as living with Covid-19 in the new normal,” he said.
Health ministry spokeswoman Or Vandine said late last week that omicron cases had shown no sign of dropping and remained a concern. She repeated calls for everyone to join hands in breaking the chain of transmission by adhering to the three dos and three don’ts and getting vaccinated.
