Today, there are more hints of a'reopening,' as Cambodia reports the lowest number of new cases in six months.

[ASEAN NOW]

 

Cambodia has reported its lowest daily new case total since April 8th, as the country moves closer to'reopening,' with Prime Minister Hun Sen making numerous major pronouncements today on the country's return to 'normalcy.'

The official daily new COVID case total for today was 148, increasing the overall number of COVID cases to 117,500.

 

The PM said 15 days ago, on the 8th of October, that Cambodia will be able to restart its economy across all sectors if the Covid-19 situation following Pchum Ben remained stable for at least 10 days, saying:

 

"If the situation does not improve in the next 10 to 15 days, I believe it is necessary to reopen the economy and society in all areas under the new normal paradigm," he said.

 

Cambodia now appears to be returning to a 'new normal,' as evidenced by the re-opening of the e-Visa scheme for tourists and investors, the relaxation of the quarantine period for incoming travellers, a new QR code system for checking vaccination status, and a general determination by the Royal Government to re-open the Kingdom for business as soon as it is safe to do so.

 

The declaration on November 1st of a complete reopening of all educational institutions only adds to this.

 

Thailand said that any vaccinated national from 46 countries wishing to enter Thailand for commercial or other purposes will be allowed to enter without quarantine.

 

Today, the Prime Minister directed officials to look into resuming ASEAN flights, which might lead to 'vaccine tourism.'

 

He also stated that if COVID outbreaks are discovered in schools, marketplaces, or factories, there will be no further closures.

 

Despite the encouraging indicators of'reopening,' Phnom Penh City Hall has issued a warning about planned Halloween celebrations next week, stressing that karaoke and clubs are still prohibited, and that if they open their business, they will be breaking the law.

 

With 19,473 instances being imported, the total number of Community Cases is now 98,027.

 

Today, 22 imported cases were announced while the number of imported cases seemed to be dwindling.

 

Cambodia also revealed 11 further deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19-related deaths in Cambodia to 2715.

 

As active cases decreased, 327 recoveries were announced, bringing the total number of active COVID cases in Cambodia to 2,395 cases.

 

The new policy of limited quick testing for COVID-19, which is the first step in transitioning away from the pandemic to the endemic stage of the COVID-19 issue, is linked to the dramatic decrease in reported cases.

 

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.

 

Discover Cigna’s range of health insurance solutions created for expats and local nationals living in Thailand - click to view