Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday announced the “end” of the February 20 community transmission, which has resulted in more than 3,000 reported deaths, even as the Omicron variant of the virus registered two more cases in the country on Sunday.
Cambodian civil society figures say they have had limited to no interaction with Facebook over the past few years, despite the social media platform claiming it has a network of NGO contacts in the country.
The Cambodian Health Ministry confirmed the first official case of Omicron variant late Tuesday with the mutated virus found in a passenger arriving from Ghana on Sunday.
More than 200 civil society members and activists gathered for a celebration of human rights on Friday, held almost a month after at least 18 activists and protestors were released from prison.
As Cambodia reopens, some with disabilities face the lingering effects of pandemic lockdowns that disrupted access to prostheses, wheelchairs and related care.
The World Health Organization said on Friday it was seeing an increase in Covid-19 cases, especially in Europe, and that countries needed to be vigilant and learn to live with the virus, commending Cambodia’s approach toward a reopening.
Phnom Penh City Hall flip-flopped on the reopening of KTVs and nightclubs, eventually allowing the entertainment venues to reopen from November 30.
Advocates from across Southeast Asia on Tuesday alleged social media complicity in state-sponsored propaganda, harassment of activists and antidemocratic censorship as they established a regional civil-society coalition to press for accountability.
Omicron, which was first detected in southern Africa earlier this month, has shown signs of quickly spreading through populations. The WHO was notified of the variant on Wednesday based on a sample collected in South Africa on November 9.
While Licadho wanted platforms like Facebook to provide more access to safety features for Khmer-language users, the tech giant said these services were already available to Cambodians.
VOD is an independent media outlet producing radio programs and disseminating information to the public via the Internet.
© 2019 VOD. All Rights Reserved.
