Foreign arrivals from select countries and who are sponsored by a local company director or other official have had Covid-19 quarantine requirements relaxed, but “general” foreign and Cambodian arrivals no longer have the option to self-isolate at home for two weeks, according to the Health Ministry’s latest guidelines.
People should avoid social gatherings such as weddings, concerts, dinner parties and group exercise, and conduct meetings and workshops digitally where possible, the Health Ministry said Tuesday evening amid testing and contact tracing for Covid-19 cases related to a diplomat’s visit.
Some officials have breached quarantine and traveled outside Phnom Penh, leading the search for indirect Covid-19 contacts of a visiting Hungarian foreign minister to spread to at least seven provinces.
A full day of Covid-19 testing is being carried out on Monday for government officials from 13 different ministries and institutions after having varying contact with a visiting Hungarian foreign minister who later tested positive for the disease.
UPDATED 2 p.m. — Caution and skepticism persist despite health authorities reporting success in keeping Covid-19 numbers down, as government officials have ignored safety precautions, a foreign delegation was allowed to skip quarantine, and the country’s testing regime remains opaque.
Taking precautionary measures, some staff at news outlets and government bodies have gone into two-week quarantine following the visit of a Hungarian foreign minister who later tested positive for Covid-19.
A government minister said on Thursday that the Hungarian delegation that visited this week — and from which a member later tested positive for Covid-19 — along with the Foreign Affairs Ministry had asked for no mandatory masks, alcohol spraying or temperature checks during a signing ceremony.
Health authorities said on Thursday that 628 people had been tested for Covid-19 after coming in contact with a visiting Hungarian official who tested positive for the virus after leaving the country this week.
The embattled tourism sector’s woes continued as foreign visitor numbers to Angkor Archaeological Park dipped again in October, while the Water Festival weekend failed to provide much of a boost for some regions and businesses.
Dozens of people are getting tested for Covid-19 in Siem Reap after a French man visited bars and attended a pool party during supposed self-quarantine before testing positive over the weekend, on his 13th day of mandatory isolation.
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