covid-19
A motorbike driver waits for customers outside the Health Ministry in Phnom Penh on March 19, 2020. (Chorn Chanren/VOD)

Ministry Urges Covid-19 Precautions as Restaurants Reopen

The Health Ministry on Monday warned citizens to follow hygienic practices and avoid restaurants that fail to take precautions against the spread of Covid-19 as Cambodia nears a month without identifying a single new coronavirus infection.

Workers travel by truck from a factory along National Road 5 in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo District on April 22, 2020. (So Chey Oudom/VOD)

Close-Quarter Commutes, Covid-19 Risks Leave Garment Workers Worried

Garment factories have taken precautions in an effort to prevent Covid-19 from spreading down assembly lines. But workers and labor advocates say they are concerned the cramped trucks that ferry workers to factories could be potential hot spots for infection.

A health worker wears protective equipment during a checkup clinic for garment workers at Chumpouvoan High School in Phnom Penh on April 20, 2020. (Danielle Keeton-Olsen/VOD)

Covid-19 Testing Drops by Half as No New Cases Reported for 22 Days

About 800 samples were tested for Covid-19 in Cambodia last week — less than half of the number tested the week before — while Health Ministry and WHO representatives on Monday said that the country remains at risk for outbreaks and needs to adjust to a “new normal.”

A Medical Waste Management Unit worker navigates the waste-strewn warehouse floor of the Dangkor landfill in Phnom Penh on April 9, 2020. (Gerald Flynn)

Medical Waste Collectors: Cambodia’s Unseen Front-Line Workers

On the front lines of Cambodia’s fight against Covid-19, the five-man team responsible for disposing of all of Phnom Penh’s medical waste says they are poorly equipped, uninsured and at risk of infection, but few recognize the challenges they face.

Workers mostly stay in their rented rooms during a self-isolation period, coming out occasionally to buy food, at a block of dorms where garment workers live in Phnom Penh’s Choam Chao commune on April 22, 2020. (Danielle Keeton-Olsen/VOD)

Workers Isolate in Dorms After Stay-at-Home Order

Workers who were told to isolate at home as a Covid-19 precaution said they would accept orders to take time off. But with more garment factories suspending production due to reduced orders, some workers worry their leave will be extended indefinitely.

Al-Serkal Mosque in Phnom Penh's Daun Penh district on March 19, 2020 after Cambodia enacted a temporary ban on religious gatherings. (Danielle Keeton-Olsen/VOD)

Muslim Leader Touts Unity After Virus-Linked Discrimination

Relations between Cambodian Muslims and others have normalized after souring last month following a spate of Covid-19 infections linked to a religious gathering in Malaysia, a Muslim community leader said on Tuesday.