Cambodia has had a 15th day of ‘new normal' low cases as the country prepares to ‘reopen'.

[ASEAN NOW]

 

As Cambodia gets closer to reopening, the number of new cases has dropped dramatically for the 15th day in a row.

The official daily new COVID case total for today was 265, increasing the overall number of COVID cases to 116,140.

 

Last Friday, Prime Minister Hun Sen stated that if the Covid-19 situation following Pchum Ben remained calm for at least 10 days, Cambodia will be able to resume its economy across all sectors.

 

"If the situation remains unchanged for the next 10 to 15 days," Mr Hun Sen added, "I believe it is time to reopen the economy and society across all sectors under the new normal paradigm."

 

With 19,303 instances being imported, the total number of Community Cases is now 96,837.

 

Despite a substantial drop in the number of Covid-19 cases, an Inter-Ministerial Committee is examining options to reopen the Kingdom without quarantine for fully-vaccinated visitors from low-risk nations, Phnom Penh has not fully relaxed its restrictions, with bars and clubs still forbidden from operating.

 

Today, 18 imported cases were announced while the number of imported cases seemed to be dwindling.

 

Cambodia also revealed 26 more deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19-related deaths in Cambodia to 2610.

 

As active cases decreased, 499 recoveries were announced, bringing the total number of active COVID cases in Cambodia to 3369.

 

This sharp decline in reported cases is linked to a new strategy of limited COVID-19 fast testing, which is the first step in moving the COVID-19 issue from pandemic to endemic status.

 

However, this new approach has significantly reduced the number of reported cases, and when combined with the current policy of not providing any provincial or 'Delta' numbers, it is now difficult to determine the exact extent of COVID in Cambodia.

 

There was certainly an upward tendency in The Kingdom, but the previous 15 days' results have completely reversed this upward trend, as shown in the graph below (please note that results may be up to 2 days behind):

Cambodians are betting on the Royal Government's immunization program, which has been dubbed the "Cambodian vaccination miracle" and is depicted in the graph below.

 

Cambodia not only has a considerably higher vaccination rate than Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam, but it has also surpassed practically every major country in the globe, including China, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany.

 

However, a health worker at a Chak Angre immunization center expressed concern about the slow uptake of the 3rd booster dosage campaign in Phnom Penh, saying:

 

"The fact that the booster dose significantly boosts their immune system has been neglected since individuals believe they have received two doses, have had no symptoms or been exposed to the virus since their first vaccine on February 10, and hence the booster dose can wait."

 

"Others want to wait up to eight months before getting their booster shot," says one patient.

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[Sheryl]

While the new approach to testing makes sense per se, it is totally inaccurate and misleading to compare resulting case numbers to the numbers prior to this change.

 

It is apples and oranges.

 

Can only compare case numbers in the 2 weeks since the change, and these have not declined.

 

Or can compare number of deaths. No real decline there, either.