As Cambodia's 'new normal' low case count continues, active cases dip below 3,000.

[ASEAN NOW]

 

With the weekend announcement of a reduction in quarantine periods for vaccinated travellers to Cambodia – as well as a new scheme for invitation letters for travellers and investors – Cambodia is taking small steps toward'reopening.' Today marked the 19th consecutive day of dramatically lower case numbers.

The official daily new COVID case count for today was 175, increasing the overall number of COVID cases to 117,035 cases.

 

PM Hun Sen said 12 days ago, on the 8th of October, that Cambodia will be able to resume its economy across all sectors if the Covid-19 situation following Pchum Ben remained stable for at least 10 days.

 

“If the situation does not change in the next 10 to 15 days, I believe it is time to reopen the economy and society in all areas under the new normal concept,” Mr Hun Sen added.

 

However, EuroCham today stated that Cambodia should reopen the country 'proudly' to every vaccinated passenger.

 

"It seems a little unnecessarily comprehensive and controlled – let's face it, Cambodia has one of the most effective records in fighting Covid-19, including vaccination rates, and should be proudly reopening, equally for everyone with the appropriate safety certificate," said EuroCham chairman Tassilo Brinzer.

 

With 19,399 instances being imported, the total number of Community Cases is now 97,636.

Today, 34 imported cases were disclosed as imported cases appeared to be on the decline – but observers have cautioned that the increase in COVID-19 infections in Southern Thailand could cause problems in Cambodian border districts.

 

Cambodia also revealed 11 new deaths, increasing the total number of COVID-19-related deaths in Cambodia to 2681.

 

As active cases decreased, 271 recoveries were announced, bringing the total number of active COVID cases in Cambodia to 2927.

 

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.

 

Although there was a general increasing tendency in The Kingdom, the results of the last 19 days have entirely reversed this upward trend, as shown in the graph below (please note that results may be up to 2 days behind):

Cambodians are counting on the Royal Government's immunization campaign, dubbed the "Cambodian vaccination miracle," to succeed, as shown 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.

 

Cambodia's new QR Code System "StopCovid QR Vaccine," which was introduced yesterday, is yet another effort to contain and prevent the spread of COVID-19, as well as to promote the reopening of all sectors in accordance with the new rule.

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