Officers stand guard on a road leading to Siem Reap province early this month. The provincial hall has now lifted the 9pm-3am curfew first imposed on September 8. SIEM REAP PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION
The Siem Reap Provincial Administration has lifted the 9pm-3am curfew throughout the province after a decrease in the rate of new Covid-19 cases. Kampong Speu province similarly decided to lift restrictions and reopen businesses.
Siem Reap provincial governor Tea Seiha first imposed the curfew on September 8 and then extended it on October 4 with the intention of preventing the spread of Covid-19.
Siem Reap provincial department of information director Liv Sokhon told The Post on October 20 that the lifting of the curfew was also based on Prime Minister Hun Sen’s recommendation that people adapt their lives to the new normal in the context of Covid-19.
“The government has in principle generally announced that people throughout the country have to learn to live in the new normal with Covid-19. Those are the respective words of Samdech [Hun Sen]. Cambodia has vaccinated more than 90 per cent of people [aged 6 and over] against Covid-19 and is ready to reopen the economy. So the provincial authorities checked out the situation and then lifted the curfew,” he said.
He added that the number of new cases in the province had also decreased, with only 30 to 50 new cases per day. He also said the provincial administration had reopened markets including Samaki, Phsar Leu Thom Thmei and Samdech Techo Hun Sen Doeum Kralanh so vendors can resume their businesses again.
In Kampong Speu, the provincial administration has also decided to put an end to administrative measures to combat and prevent the spread of Covid-19 from October 20.
“All business and occupational activities such as resorts, amusement parks, museums and gymnasiums can resume operations. But they are required to maintain the necessary health measures and to practice the three do’s and three don’ts,” it said in a directive.
The curfews and administrative measures in some provinces were lifted following Prime Minister Hun Sen’s national address on October 19, when he concluded that the nation had not experienced the surge in cases that it feared in the aftermath of the Pchum Ben public holiday. He said the country actually saw a decrease in cases and deaths.
“After Pchum Ben, when our people travelled to many places, we’ve seen that the number of new transmission cases has not increased but instead decreased, while the number of deaths has been stable and likely to decline. This is a big testament [to our success] as I said previously before we reopen the country in all sectors,” Hun Sen said.
“Learning to adjust your lives to the presence of Covid-19 is an inevitable part of this process because no one knows when it will end,” he said.
