Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia has overcome Covid-19, with people gathering to celebrate the 32nd SEA Games without fear of contracting the virus.

Hun Sen was addressing a May 15 graduation ceremony for over 3,000 students from three national agriculture schools in Phnom Penh.

“Now that we have overcome Covid-19, we can gather fearlessly. If we had not lifted testing measures, perhaps no one would have attended the games, as they would have had to submit to rapid tests,” he said.

“We don’t know either how many millions of dollars we would have spent on testing equipment, but it would not have been cheap. More than 60,000 people attended Morodok Techo National Stadium on several occasions. They would all have had to be tested, and that is just one venue,” he added.

The lifting of testing measures, he stressed, marked the success of the Kingdom’s campaign against the virus.

“Having said that, the Ministry of Health is continuing to monitor the situation and pay close attention to developments, because it is possible that climate change may lead to new disease somewhere in the world. Therefore, we have to remain vigilant,” he said.

Following this year’s Khmer New Year, the government announced that testing and mask wearing requirements had been lifted for gatherings in state and private institutes.

The health ministry reported no new cases of Covid-19 on May 15. As of May 15, the Kingdom had seen 138,736 confirmed cases, with 135,679 recoveries and 3,056 deaths.