Residents in the capital's Red Zones suggested that health officials go directly to their homes to collect samples for Covid-19 testing rather than expecting them all at designated sites as mandated by the Phnom Penh municipality. The residents said the request, if granted, would minimise transmission risks from large gatherings.

The call came after the first day of mandatory specimen collection saw people flocking en masse to designated sites, especially in Meanchey district.

“It is possible to collect samples from one bloc to another, such as at a Borey [gated residential community].

"In the Red Zone, high-risk and low-risk blocs should be identified and specimens should be taken separately. This can prevent people in high-risk areas from gathering in one place,” one of the residents, who went by the name Kourchettana, posted his suggestion on the municipal hall's official Facebook page.

Another Facebook user under the name Bolen Lee said it was important to collect samples at home, citing reasons that some parts of the Red Zone are not at high risk as many residents there have already received their second dose of Covid-19 vaccine.

“It's not good to undergo Covid-19 testing altogether in one place. Please revise the procedures,” he wrote.

Municipal hall spokesman Meth Meas Pheakdey could not be reached for comment. But he told local media Fresh News that the Ministry of Health have dispatched teams of medical workers to collect samples at place closest to people's homes.

“For people with disabilities, the elderly, pregnant women, women with young babies, nannies, and those undergoing a medical treatment, the health ministry and municipal authorities will go to take samples at their homes directly,” he was quoted as saying.