As Cambodia prepares to reopen, the number of active COVID cases falls below 2,000.

[ASEAN NOW]

 

As Cambodia moves closer to ‘reopening,' the country has seen its lowest daily new case total since April 8th, part of a remarkable 25-day stretch of ‘new normal' low case counts.

 

The official daily new COVID case count for today was 116, increasing the total number of COVID cases to 117,888.

 

PM Hun Sen stated 17 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 remains stable for at least 10 days, stating:

 

"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.

Last week's surprising developments, such as the re-opening of the e-Visa scheme for tourists and investors, the relaxation of the quarantine period for incoming travellers, the lifting of the ban on flights from Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, and the introduction of a new QR code system for checking vaccination status, demonstrate the Royal Government's general determination to reopen the Kingdom for business as soon as it is safe to do so.

 

Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam, the Kingdom's ASEAN neighbors, have all announced significant loosening of restrictions on travelers from Cambodia and a variety of other countries.

 

It's safe to expect that Cambodia will soon follow suit and ease admission criteria even more.

 

In this mood of broad joy over the imminent reopening of the country, however, a note of caution must be struck.

 

COVID has not vanished – far from it – and, while Cambodia is significantly better prepared to handle with the pandemic threat than many other nations due to widespread immunization, it remains a devastating – albeit hopefully controlled – threat.

 

Instead, Cambodians must focus on adapting to the 'new normal,' rather than expecting the Kingdom to revert to life as it was pre-COVID.

 

With 19,536 instances being imported, the total number of Community Cases is now 98,352.

 

Today, 17 imported cases were revealed, keeping the pattern of few imported cases going.

 

Cambodia also revealed 9 more deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19-related deaths in Cambodia to 2743.

 

As active cases decreased, 287 recoveries were announced, bringing the total number of active COVID cases in Cambodia to 1,874.

 

The strategy of limited fast testing for COVID-19, which is the first step in shifting away from the pandemic to the 'endemic stage' of the COVID-19 issue, is linked to the dramatic decrease in reported cases.

 

However, this restriction has significantly reduced the number of cases recorded, 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.

 

Source: Khmer News

 

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Vietnam and Cambodia are again way behind Thailand. 

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