A police officer speaks on the phone while manning a barricade in a former red zone in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district in May. Heng Chivoan
Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced that all official events will resume in November while schools, factories, markets and other establishments will no longer be closed even if there is an outbreak of Covid-19.
In case of an outbreak, he explained, infected persons will be admitted to treatment facilities and the establishments will just be disinfected and allowed to resume operations.
Speaking at the Council of Ministers on October 22, Hun Sen said the Covid-19 situation in Cambodia has improved significantly with far less daily infections and deaths. This, he said, has allowed for gradual resumption of economic activities in the lead-up to full reopening of the country.
As for official events, the prime minister said he will personally go to the National Assembly next week to attend its plenary seesion on the passage of the draft amendments to several articles of the Constitution aiming to mandate single citizenship for the nation’s top office holders.
He will also preside over the inauguration of the new headquarters of the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction on November 8, followed by the inauguration of the Stung Trang-Kroch Chhmar Cambodia-China Friendship Bridge linking Kampong Cham province’s Stung Trang district to Tbong Khmum province’s Kroch Chhmar district.
The prime minister said he will then attend a ceremony marking significant achievements such as infrastructure development in Preah Sihanouk province.
“We cannot stay in the hole any longer ... We will reopen schools across the country for our students to pursue their study from November 1 onwards,” he said.
Hun Sen also instructed relevant authorities not to close an entire school, market or factory where people test positive for the coronavirus.
“For example, if a factory has a few people testing positive, just send them off for treatment. Don’t close the entire factory. In the past, even a single transmission case at a factory would lead to an entire shutdown,” he said, adding that the establishment should just be disinfected after the infected have been sent off for treatment.
“At schools, if students contract Covid-19, just send them off for treatment and let the rest continue their study because they have been fully vaccinated,” he said.
He said only patients in serious conditions should be admitted to hospital, while asymptomatic patients should get treatment at home.
