An apparent outbreak of hundreds of cases — at a factory where workers say 80 percent were vaccinated — is a reminder that ending the Covid-19 pandemic is not a simple matter, health experts say.
Covid-19 outbreaks of hundreds of workers are continuing to hit garment factories in and out of Phnom Penh, as factories navigate whether to suspend operations or keep up production.
About 2,000 factory workers blocked National Road 6 over the weekend in Kampong Cham province, asking that they be given Covid-19 tests, be allowed to quarantine at home, and be paid 50 percent of their wages, according to provincial officials.
Factories should not require vaccinations for employees to return to work, Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Labor Ministry said over the weekend, reversing an earlier proposal that had led to protests among workers seeking quicker vaccinations.
Garment factories outside the strictest lockdown zones are looking to reopen with half their workforce and Covid-19 preventions as Phnom Penh eases lockdowns, but the restrictions have still had an impact on cash flow and production for several garment industry players as well as workers.
More than 1,600 workers from 206 factories have tested positive across the country, the government said at a press conference Wednesday, with thousands of others placed in quarantine.
Phnom Penh’s Din Han Enterprise garment factory, which has seen hundreds of workers test positive for Covid-19, is struggling to pay last month’s paychecks to workers placed in lockdown.
UPDATED 10:07 a.m. — More than 250 Covid-19 cases were found at a Meanchey district garment factory, Phnom Penh City Hall announced late Friday, as workers spoke of fears and alleged delayed action.
Garment workers who aren’t vaccinated for Covid-19 could eventually be barred from factories and lose their jobs, Labor Ministry spokesperson Heng Sour said on Wednesday.
A Kampong Chhnang shoe factory is threatening workers’ jobs as they try to unionize, the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions and its local representative said.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned two political analysts over criticizing the government’s foreign policy, one by name and the other by saying there was already a warrant out for his arrest.
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