Returnees from Thailand present new challenges in combating COVID-19 in Cambodia

Cambodian returnees from Thailand who are now in Cambodia present immense challenges to authorities in the fight against COVID-19. To date, it is understood that more than 60,000 Cambodians have crossed the border and an average of 3000 new returnees continued to cross the border daily though the borders are supposed to be closed.

“We have to take back our people. This is an obligation. We cannot refuse to accept them nor turn them back. The challenge now is to identify who needs to be quarantined at the border itself and who is allowed to return to their provinces and villages. “Our current estimate is that at least 20 percent of the returnees may need to be quarantined while the others can return home but have to report to local authorities there and go into self isolation.

This is necessary to avoid any sudden spike in the number of COVID-19 positive cases,” a government official involved in the measures told Khmer Times on conditions of anonymity. He said that there has been rumours that two Cambodian workers in Thailand have been reported in Bangkok and at the Thai border town of Sakeo but that their details were not reported to the Cambodian authorities in Bangkok, namely embassy officials.

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