Locations shut, dozens more Covid-19 positive
THE Ministry of Health has closed 23 locations in connection with the February 20 community transmission of Covid-19 and summoned for testing anyone who had direct contact with affected people and places. The number of discovered related infections has risen to 76, including 39 women.
In a press release, the ministry listed the names of venues whose operations have been temporarily suspended, including the nightclubs N8, The Bridge Club, Club Love, The World KTV, Jin Zun KTV, Coco Club and Hotel, Celeste Sky Bar and Club 168.
Affected commercial residences comprise the Casa Meridian hotel and condominium, Le Gong Guan Hotel, City Comfort Hotel, The Pointe Serviced Apartments, Penthouse Residence condominium, Skyline Dumex, Somet Hotel and Apartments condominium, Residence L Olympic Condominium
and the Diamond Twin Tower.
Closed commercial shops entail the Prince Central Plaza shopping centre, Ju Hao restaurant and Ven Mansion Shop, while the SIS International School and Hun Sen Phnom Penh Thmey High School were also suspended.
The ministry requested that individuals who had visited these locations between February 6 and 20, or associated with people connected to the outbreak, come forward for testing on a voluntary basis.
“According to contact tracing and identification work in progress, this situation of community transmission is now larger and more complicated than the November 28 event. The ministry has laid out measures and interventions based on the detection of Covid-19 at each location to prevent further spread of infections,” it said.
The ministry reiterated reminders for residents, particularly those in Phnom Penh
and Kandal province, to remain careful and vigilant in carrying out preventive measures.
It said that as of February 22, there had been 568 recorded cases of Covid-19. Ninetythree patients are receiving treatment at five hospitals.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has asked residents of the capital to be careful and avoid unnecessary travel during the outbreak.
“Although we have learned of some affected sites and closed them, we are still not yet certain as to the scope of people’s travels from those areas. Therefore, it is best if residents stay at home. I beg everyone to carry out the ‘three protections and three don’ts’,” he said.
The ‘three protections’ are wearing masks, washing hands and maintaining a physical distance of 1.5m from others. The ‘three don’ts’ refer to avoiding crowded places, enclosed areas without ventilation and making physical contact.
In a recorded message, Hun Sen also announced that Minister of National Defence Tea Banh would seek to prepare Preah Ket Mealea Hospital and Cho Ray Phnom Penh Hospital for treatment of Covid-19 patients.
“The number of patients has increased, burdening public hospitals. We must prepare military and other hospitals to address this problem. We will evaluate the suitability of Cho Ray Phnom Penh Hospital. We need to be careful and forethoughtful in management of this situation,” he said.
The Vietnamese embassy in Cambodia said on February 22 that it had been in contact with Ton Thanh Tra, director of Cho Ray Phnom Penh Hospital, reporting that the hospital would be honoured to cooperate with the leadership of Cambodia. It also lauded the capabilities of the hospital to ensure quality treatment and isolation of Covid-19 patients.
Phnom Penh municipal governor Kuong Sreng told The Post that the Sokha Hotel security guard who had secretly led four Chinese women away from their quarantine accommodations last weekend was being kept in quarantine, but it had not yet been confirmed whether he had been infected. The women later tested positive for Covid-19.
He stated that the guard would be punished and fined in accordance with the law and without exception.
“When he finishes the required quarantine, we will apply measures stipulated in the relevant sub-decree. He will not get away with this,” Sreng said.
CAMBODIA and Vietnam on February 19 made inroads on a handful of crossborder trade issues amid Covid-19, with Hanoi given the privilege to set a concrete date for the official opening of the long-awaited Prey VorBinh Hiep international border checkpoint in southern Svay Rieng province.
Chhieng Pich, director of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport’s General Department of Logistics, led a discussion meeting via video link on improving transport across the border with Vietnam, especially Svay Rieng’s Bavet-Moc Bai and Prey Vor-Binh Hiep international border checkpoints.
Pich said via social media that the meeting tasked a recently-formed joint working group to review and finalise a memorandum on lorry quotas in each direction across the border. He stressed that the quotas in either direction should match.
“Cambodia and Vietnam have been working closely to find ways, to find solutions that improve cross-border transport between the two countries – by reducing congestion at international checkpoints and further increasing the number of crossborder
lorries – and aim to boost economic growth in both nations,” he said.
Pich asked the Vietnamese side to set two key dates – one for a first meeting between the Kingdom’s joint working group and its counterpart in Vietnam, and another for the unveiling of the Prey Vor-Binh Hiep international border checkpoint in Prey Vor village.
With a name that means “vine forest”, Prey Vor is in Kampong Ro district’s Thmey commune and is a 50km drive southwest of Bavet town. Bavet is the province’s number two urban centre and home to its
main border gate (with Moc Bai), which is often chockfull of container lorries.
Pich said: “In response, the Vietnamese side is ready to officially open the Prey Vor-Binh Hiep international border checkpoint, but the issue of Covid-19 has hampered those plans. Still, both sides are committed to pushing for the inauguration as soon as possible.”
Logistics Business Association (LOBA) president Chea Chandara noted that Vietnam has implemented stricter measures on goods transport via the BavetMoc Bai checkpoint during
the pandemic, fuelling increased congestion.
“Vietnamese customs inspect all items and opens every container. These [measures] are even more stringent than before the Covid-19 outbreak. Seeing that goods were really jam-packed at the border, a plethora of our transport companies diverted goods traffic to the Prey Vor-Binh Hiep international checkpoint,” he said.
Cambodia Chamber of Commerce vice-president Lim Heng told The Post that cross-border trade between the two countries persists, if only a bit restrained from
Covid-19 restrictions.
“This discussion is splendid news for the private sector and could lead to a facilitation of goods flow. We also want to resolve such issues with the Thai side,” he said.
To date, Vietnam has 184 ongoing registered projects in Cambodia with a total capital investment of $2.76 billion, ranking third out of 78 countries and territories after Russia and Laos, according to the official Facebook page of the Vietnamese embassy in Cambodia.
Between 2015 and now, an average of 10 projects have been approved each year with total capital investment of between $30 and $70 million, mostly in agriculture, banking and telecommunications, according to the embassy.
According to Vietnam’s VTV1 television channel, Cambodia-Vietnam trade value will reach about $5 billion last year, which is similar to 2019.
Trade between the two countries was worth nearly $5.3 billion in 2019, up 11 per cent from 2018, according to Vietnamese ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh.
And the embassy said Cambodia mainly exported paddy, milled rice, cashew nuts, natural rubber, tobacco leaves and bananas to Vietnam, and imported steel, oil, vegetables, fruits and fertilisers.
NEW YORK Stock Exchange- (NYSE) listed hotel franchiser Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc (WH) has opened its first hotel in the Kingdom – the Howard Johnson Plaza by Wyndham Blue Bay Sihanoukville, WH said in a February 18 press release.
WH said the new 36-storey property in Sihanoukville’s Ekareach beach marks the debut of the Howard Johnson by Wyndham (Howard Johnson) chain in Southeast Asia and follows successful openings in China and South Korea.
There are more than 320 Howard Johnson hotels globally – in the Americas and Asia, it said. WH’s other brands include AmericInn, Baymont, Days Inn, Dazzler, Dolce, Esplendor, Hawthorn, La Quinta, Microtel, Ramada, Super 8, Trademark, Travelodge, TRYP, Wingate, Wyndham,
Wyndham
Wyndham Grand.
The 522-room hotel is the latest addition to WH’ portfolio of more than 1,500 hotels across the Asia-Pacific and 8,900 hotels in nearly 95 countries in all continents save Antarctica, it added.
WH Asia-Pacific president Joon Aun Ooi said in the press release: “We are delighted to celebrate [WH’s] entry into Cambodia.
“Across [the Asia-Pacific], we are committed to growing our portfolio in amazing destinations – such as Sihanoukville – and we are confident that the hotel’s prime location by the beach, along with its excellent amenities, will make it one of the most desirable places to stay in the city.
“This is an incredible milestone opening for [WH] and we look forward to continuing our strong growth momentum. Through our robust pipeline of franchise and management contracts
Garden, across the region, we anticipate more than 100 openings in Southeast Asia in the next three-to-five years.
“This will further strengthen our value proposition for Wyndham Rewards members as well as that for our owners and partners.”
WH noted that the hotel is located just 26km away from Sihanouk International Airport, while Phnom Penh is 225km to the northeast.
Preah Sihanouk Provincial Administration spokesman Kheang Phearum told The Post that he had not heard the particulars about the investment project, but extended a cordial welcome to potential local and international investors in the province.
“This is good news, it is a sign that Sihanoukville is still a multi-sectoral investment destination,” he said.
Ho Vandy, an adviser to the Cambodia Tourism Association, noted that substantial opportunity has been unlocked in the Preah Sihanouk provincial capital of Sihanoukville for international investors over the last five years, especially the Chinese.
“Sihanoukville is emerging not only as a town that entices tourists, but also as a potential investment destination in Cambodia. I imagine it’ll become a more appealing choice for local and foreign tourists,” he said.
The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction in 2019 approved 4,446 construction projects (up 55.07 per cent from 2,867 in 2018), worth some $9.353 billion (up 78.88 per cent from $5.228 billion in 2018), on a total area of 18.54 million sqm (up 62 per cent from 11.42 million sqm in 2018).
On the NYSE, WH’s share price rose $3.25 or 5.40 per cent to close at $63.49 on February 19 for a market capitalisation of $5.92 billion, with 969,247 shares traded.