P Sihanouk hit with travel ban
PREAH Sihanouk Provincial Administration has announced a temporary travel ban to and from the province, except for ambulances and trucks transporting goods.
The announcement came after prime minister Hun Sen called on people in the province to travel only if necessary, and that people not be allowed into the province.
The provincial administration on March 4 said there were people infected with Covid-19 living and working in the province as a result of the February 20 community transmission.
The ban is to allow authorities to control people infected with the novel coronavirus and others who may have been exposed.
A quarantine centre has yet to be established.
Hun Sen said in a voice message on the night of March 3 that provincial authorities are reviewing emergency action plans due to the increasing number of people infected with the virus.
He said: “The plan is to stop traffic from Preah Sihanouk province entering other provinces; trying to reduce the number of people travelling to prevent the spread to other provinces. Therefore, people are asked to stay at home.”
Hun Sen added that the second plan was to vaccinate people under 59 with the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine and for people from the age
of 60 with AstraZeneca. The Ministry of Health has already transported both vaccines to the province on March 4.
Hun Sen spoke at a press conference at Calmette Hospital on March 4, calling on the people in the province to stay indoors and not to travel unless necessary.
“We cannot close Preah Sihanouk province because it is a transport hub, but we need to be careful. I call on people not to travel to the province. And people in the province, don’t travel to other places, because it could transmit the virus along National Road 4 to Kep and Kampot province. Please remain
where you are,” he said.
Hun Sen added that in Phnom Penh, although the situation is under control, people should still stay indoors if there is no reason to go out. The number of people in treatment jumped to more than 400 in a short period following the recent community outbreak.
“This disease is highly contagious and requires people to be careful, so that authorities are able to control and then stop the outbreak. We don’t want a nationwide-wide shutdown, but call on the people in Phnom Penh, Kandal and Preah Sihanouk provinces
to avoid travel,” he said.
The prime minister said it remained to be seen whether the February 20 community event would end before the Khmer New Year in April, voicing concern over the throngs of migrant workers who will return home from Thailand over the holiday.
From December, around 40,000 migrant workers have crossed into Cambodia from Thailand, with 15,000 still in quarantine.
According to the Ministry of Health, as of March 4, Cambodia recorded 909 Covid-19 patients, 484 had been treated and 425 are hospitalised.
THE Stung Treng provincial Department of Environment is looking to study the flying lizard, known by its scientific name as Draco maculates, in the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary after one of the reptiles was found dead there.
Department director Eng Phirong told The Post on March 4 he had sent a report to the Ministry of Environment seeking permission to research the lizard.
“Our rangers found this flying lizard dead, and they have never seen this species before,” he said.
He concluded that in the sanctuary there might be a lot of unknown species, so the rangers plan to cooperate with the ministry’s General Department of Nature Protection and Conservation to further research them and learn how many species there are.
However, he said he did not know when the research would begin as the department has only recently submitted a request and report to the ministry.
Sok Phlauk, a member of the Prey Lang Community Network in Kampong Thom province, said there may be many winged lizards in the sanctuary, but the picture of the flying lizard the ministry had posted on Facebook has never been seen before.
“I used to be a hunter and cut down trees in the forest and wasn’t interested in conservation. But I became a conservationist. In all those years in Prey Lang, I have never seen this flying lizard. Perhaps, there are a lot of unknown species there,” he said.
Sok supported the study plan as it will help natural resources to be conserved and protected in a sustainable
manner for future generations.
Ministry spokesman Neth Pheaktra was not immediately available for comment on March 4. But in a Facebook post the previous day, the ministry confirmed that rangers from provincial environment department had recently photographed flying lizards in the sanctuary while researching gibbons.
A specialist from the General Department of Nature Protection and Conservation who asked not to be name said that according to the picture, it is a male flying lizard
with a long dewlap (fold or flap of skin on the neck). If it was a female flying lizard, she would have a short dewlap.
The species resides in dense forest, semi-dense forest and mixed forest in the west of the Mekong River such as the Cardamom Mountains and Prey Lang forest.
The specialist said the species eats insects such as ants, termites and flying termites. In general, they live in the trees and fly from one tree to another. But they can only fly from a higher location to a lower one.
THE Bunong ethnic minority in Mondulkiri province have seen their quality of life improved, with the once dilapidated schools and ill-equipped medical centre in Me Mang commune having received much-needed facelifts.
“The Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects” – initiated by Japan – have removed some perennial worries.
Unlike other Japanese government-funded assistance, the grant – known as Kusanone in Japanese – engages non-profit organisations rather than the government to implement social and economic developments in rural areas.
Since its launch in 1991, Japan has implemented over 640 Kusanone projects across the Kingdom.
One key project centred on Me Mang commune in Mondulkiri province – home to many Bunong people – with the rebuilding of the Me Mang primary and secondary schools, and the Mondulkiri Health Centre, all located in the mountainous region some 400km from Phnom Penh.
Schools
The Me Mang Primary School – which was in a poor condition, lacking proper facilities and posing dangers to students – was rebuilt in December 2018.
The primary school’s weak wooden structure was replaced with a sturdy concrete building comprising three classrooms, with two toilets and a water tank to store rain water.
Classrooms have been
equipped with chairs, tables and whiteboards to cater for 111 students and seven teachers.
“The concrete building makes it possible to study even during the rainy season. Normally, there are no toilets in Bunong people’s houses and none in the schools too, so they defecate in the bushes. The new toilets have improved sanitation in our area,” said Heng Douch, the school’s principal.
Teacher Pheap Sreynan said the new building had greatly improved the learning environment.
“This new school has made it much better for teachers to teach and for students to learn. We are now looking to bring in play items and sporting equipment for the students,” Sreynan said.
Nharng Nhang, the village chief of Pourn Goull where the
school is located, spoke of how the project had been a relief on resources.
“The old wooden buildings had to be repaired every year using donations from villagers or from the school or commune budget. This was a financial burden on the administration, but that has reduced now,” he said.
The Me Mang Secondary School, which was in a poor condition, without a proper building and lacking basic facilities, had to rent four rooms from the nearby O Te Primary School, itself an old wooden structure.
However, students could not attend classes there regularly as its roof was prone to collapsing during rainy season, with classrooms often flooding, making it difficult for the administrators to meet the Ministry of Education,
Youth and Sport’s target of 32 hours of teaching per week for all pupils.
To solve the problem, Japan last December built a new school building with two toilets and donated learning materials.
The school’s principal,
Toeurm Pechly, said the new building is also being used as a high school, with 10th graders attending classes since the beginning of this year.
“Students had to travel into the town to pursue their higher education, but many did not go to high school at all because it would have meant them having to live in town far away from their parents.
“We now use the new building, so students need not leave the district.”
The Me Mang Secondary School remains important in the area, with students from eight primary schools from surrounding vicinities learning there.
As of January, there were eight teachers and 287 students, many of them from the Bunong community.
Healthcare
The Kusanone grant also brought peace of mind to villagers after their only health centre was rebuilt and modernised in 2019 – giving rural people access to a far higher quality of medical treatment.
The Me Mang Health Center, built in 1986 and the area’s only healthcare facility, served 12 surrounding villages. The dilapidated centre with pharmacy carried out vaccinations, medical consultations and maternity care all in a single building.
Due to the shortage of rooms, pregnant mothers delivering babies and the treatment of patients with sexually transmitted infections were all housed in the same place.
The Me Mang Health Center is located around 45km away in Senmonorom, Mondulkiri provincial capital - the only public medical institution available to local residents daily.
During emergencies, ambulance services were not easily available either – putting villagers at risk.
To address such issues, the Kusanone grant was used to build an eight-room health centre, with a maternity ward, prenatal and postnatal rooms, a kitchen, two bathrooms and a waiting area for visitors.
The centre had 10 staff as of
January– of whom two were doctors and five midwives. Around 100 babies are delivered every year at the new centre.
Mondulkiri Health Center director Tach Sithat said that while women had in the past preferred to deliver their babies at home, more pregnant mothers are giving birth at the centre after the new maternity ward was built.
“Previously, there were cases of infant deaths and postpartum illnesses, but in the past year there have been no deaths or illness.
“Before, patients with infectious diseases and pregnant women slept in the same room, but things have changed now that the new centre has been built,” Sithat said.
Bunong midwife Chantha Sonia said the number of Bunong women giving birth at the centre has increased because of its modern facilities.
“With the support of Japan, it is now possible for mothers to deliver their babies in a separate room, and patients are now treated with proper medical equipment. These improvements have led to a major chang+e in the mindset of the local people, most of whom are ethnic minorities, and lifted their spirits,” she said.
The Kusanone project, which largely focuses on improving the well-being of local communities, has contributed significantly to human security of the Bunong community in Me Mang – majority who are cut off from the rapid developments taking place outside their area.