Migrant workers returning from Thailand through a border checkpoint in Oddar Meanchey province on December 21. Oddar Meanchey Provincial Hall
A senior Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training official has called on Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand not to change residences or return to their homeland during the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak unless necessary.
In a Facebook post, ministry spokesman Heng Sour also announced that migrant workers would not be arrested at this time even if they are staying to work there illegally.
“The Thai authorities will not arrest Cambodian migrant workers who stay in one place. So please maintain composure and cooperate,” he said.
Kim Chamroeun, an adviser in charge of migrant workers in Thailand, said he had met with Thai labour minister Suchart Chomklin to address the spread of the virus.
“We are working closely with the Thai government. They will officially inform us if any Cambodian citizens contract Covid-19, and they will treat our brothers and sisters as they do Thai nationals,” Chamroeun said.
He also encouraged all Cambodian migrant workers to remain calm and not seek to flee from where they are. Staying put during the outbreak is the best way to stop its spread together, he said.
“During this time, migrant workers won’t be arrested. Thai authorities are formulating policy to help undocumented migrant brothers and sisters. They may continue to stay and work in Thailand temporarily,” Chamroeun said.
On December 25, the Cambodian embassy in Thailand distributed gifts to nearly 200 migrant families on the outskirts of Bangkok bordering Samut Sakhon province. Their livelihoods have been affected after Thai authorities restricted travel in the area following a recent Covid-19 outbreak in the province. Gifts included milled rice, Khmer noodles, canned fish, soy sauce, sugar, salt and masks.
Ministry of Health spokeswoman Or Vandine said on December 27 that one person among a group of 10 Cambodian migrant workers had tested positive for Covid-19 on December 23.
But she pointed out that the workers had left Cambodia for Thailand well before the recent outbreak began in Samut Sakhon province.
“According to the information I received, these workers had left Chonburi province for Bangkok recently, and the Thai authorities detected one case of Covid-19 among them. We have determined that the individual did not contract Covid-19 in Cambodia before entering Thailand,” she said.
Acting on the orders of Prime Minister Hun Sen, the health ministry has allowed all restaurants and stores involved with the “November 28 Covid-19 community incident” – a reference to the first confirmed case of local transmission – to reopen as usual from December 27. These places must continue to properly implement Covid-19 safety rules.
According to the ministry, 37 of 41 Covid-19 patients infected in connection with the event had recovered, with only four remaining hospitalised.
Vandine also issued guidance to all private medical service providers to cooperate in preventing a large-scale spread of Covid-19 in the community by referring suspected cases to provincial hospitals or the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh.
She explained that the ministry did not allow private physicians to diagnose and treat patients suspected of having Covid-19. In such cases, healthcare workers must inform their patients with regard to the illness and instruct them to remain in isolation. They must then urgently notify municipal or provincial health departments nearby to arrange for transferring patients to designated hospitals.
On December 27, the ministry announced that one Covid-19 patient had recovered, but an arriving passenger had tested positive.
The recovery case is a 66-year-old Cambodian-American who had been staying at a hotel in Phnom Penh after having arrived from the US via South Korea.
The new positive case is a 43-year-old Indonesian man arriving from Singapore on December 25 and is being treated at the National Centre for Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control in Phnom Penh. He was travelling with 50 passengers, all of whom tested negative and are being quarantined at two separate hotels in the capital.
As of December 27, Cambodia had recorded a total of 364 Covid-19 cases, with eight remaining hospitalised.
