New contact-tracing scare amid recoveries
THE Ministry of Health has urged people who visited the Hidden Coffee shop in Teuk Thla commune of Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district on December 4 to go to the National Institute of Public Health for Covid-19 testing and to self-quarantine for 14 days.
The ministry’s call came after an individual who tested positive for Covid-19 on December 4 had visited the coffee shop around 3:30pm prior to the test.
Separately, the ministry also said in a press release on December 16 that seven more people have recovered from Covid-19.
Five of the recovered patients were connected to the November 28 community incident – a reference to the first confirmed case of community transmission of Covid-19. Among them is the 12-year-old grandson of directorgeneral of prisons Chhem Savuth.
The second is a 36-year-old Cambodian man living in the Borey Peng Huot gated community who is Savuth’s driver. The third is a 30-year-old man from Chbar Ampov district’s Nirouth commune who is Savuth’s assistant.
The fourth is a 36-year-old woman living in Chamkarmon district’s Tuol Tompoung I commune who is the wife of the deputy director of the department of prisons. The fifth is a 22-year-old man from Meanchey district’s Chak Angre Leu commune who is an employee of the Pedro footwear and accessories store on Sihanouk Boulevard in Phnom Penh.
One of the two recovered patients who were not involved in the November 28 incident is a 62-year-old Cambodian-American woman living in Tuol
Sangke commune of Phnom Penh’s Russey Keo district who arrived in Cambodia from the US via South Korea on November 26. The second is a 42-yearold American man living in Sen Sok district’s Teuk Thla commune who had travelled from China on November 20.
The ministry confirmed that all seven individuals were discharged from the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital after each twice tested negative for Covid-19.
Regarding the November 28 community incident and the government’s response, Prime Minister Hun Sen praised the frontline health officials, as well as public servants across the country who participated in preventing an outbreak.
“I am really very proud of health officials and officials from all sectors who have brought this event under control,” Hun Sen said.
According to the prime minister, 18,828 people across the country were directly or indirectly affected by the November 28 incident.
As of December 16, Cambodia had recorded a total of 362 Covid-19 cases, with 43 remaining hospitalised including the 41 community transmission cases.
The ministry also issued instructions for more than 1,000 officials of the interior ministry and staff members of Cathay United Bank and the Bank of China to submit to a third and final test on December 18.
Tests will be conducted at the interior ministry throughout the entire day in order to avoid crowding. Ministry officials will be tested first, starting at 7am, and testing of bank staff will occur from 10am onwards.