Five people have been sentenced to one year in prison in Kampong Cham and Takeo provinces for violating the Covid-19 Law after drinking in groups against public health protocols, amid a slew of arrests across the country for parties, illegal travel, not wearing masks and breaking curfew.
Thousands of messages requesting emergency food aid have flooded a forum set up by City Hall, as some residents said their household incomes were down to zero because of the lockdown’s rising restrictions and they feared running out of food within days if they didn’t receive help.
Local-level authorities are navigating the enforcement of Phnom Penh and Takhmao city’s tightening lockdown rules amid an ongoing Covid-19 surge, saying commuters need permits but delivery drivers do not, and limited outdoor exercise is being allowed while preserving safety.
Phnom Penh City Hall declared four communes and three villages in the locked down capital as “red zones” under a new decree made public on Monday, requiring that even food sellers are closed down.
Hundreds of questions flooded a messaging group set up by Phnom Penh City Hall after the city was put under lockdown, with some answers provided about traveling for vaccines, cycling around neighborhoods, and necessary documentation.
UPDATED 8:56 a.m. — Phnom Penh residents are restricted from leaving their homes except to buy food three times a week or for work and emergencies, and business activities must be curtailed except for those that provide for “daily needs” or are conducted online, Prime Minister Hun Sen declared just before midnight.
Covid-19 has been spreading through Phnom Penh restaurants, markets, small businesses, private gatherings and parties, and Cambodia stands “on the brink of a national tragedy” unless the outbreak is stopped, the World Health Organization said in a statement issued Saturday.
Phnom Penh City Hall issued orders late Friday night to lock down seven villages and two communes for fear of Covid-19 transmission following the emergence of hundreds of new cases in the capital.
All schools in Phnom Penh and towns in Kandal province are being closed for two weeks, while KTVs, movie theaters and museums will be shuttered across the country till further notice, after a Cambodian man who worked directly with a visiting Hungarian foreign minister was found positive for Covid-19 on his second test on Saturday.
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