The Phnom Penh Municipal Hall on March 9 allowed 23 sites linked to the February 20 community transmission of Covid-19 to resume operations after their temporary closure.

According to the municipal hall, the owners of the sites must strictly follow all protective measures to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The decision came as the Ministry of Health recorded a further 49 cases of Covid-19 late on March 8, all but one of which were linked to the community transmission, bringing the total to 549 in just over two weeks. The 48 cluster cases include 19 Cambodians, 28 Chinese nationals and one Indonesian.

On March 9, the ministry also announced the recovery of 21 patients, 20 of whom were linked to the February 20 community outbreak.

As of March 9, Cambodia had recorded a total of 1,060 Covid-19 cases, with 521 receiving ongoing treatment.