JAIL FOR QUARANTINE BREAKERS

Unvaccinated civil servants could also lose jobs, warns Cambodian PM Hun Sen

CAMBODIA’S strongman premier Hun Sen threatened quarantine breakers with jail time yesterday and warned civil servants they could lose their jobs if they go unvaccinated, as the country grapples with a growing coronavirus caseload.

In the past two days, Cambodia has registered more than 1,000 infections, many among garment workers and market vendors, bringing the country’s tally to 4,081 cases and 26 deaths.

Authorities this week banned travel between provinces, imposed a night-time curfew in the capital here and shut down popular tourism sites, including the famed Angkor Wat archaeological park.

Wearing face masks is now mandatory in the city and violators face a fine of up to US$250.

But Hun Sen yesterday threatened harsher measures, saying anyone who flouted a two-week quarantine period would face a “quick trial” and jail time.

“People who break Covid-19 measures must be sentenced,” he said on state-run television.

“I accept being called a dictator, but I will also be admired for protecting my people’s lives.”

Cambodia has already passed a strict Covid-19 prevention bill that could see people who flout virus rules jailed for up to 20 years.

Hun Sen announced that being vaccinated was “mandatory” for all state officials and the armed forces, warning them they could be fired if they refuse.

Phnom Penh is slowly running out of hospital beds and authorities are transforming schools and wedding party halls into treatment centres for patients with mild symptoms.

Neighbouring Thailand is also struggling to contain a new wave of cases. Health authorities there have detected a highly infectious variant of the virus originally found in Britain.

India’s coronavirus epicentre, Maharashtra, went into a statewide weekend lockdown yesterday as the country battled exploding infection numbers and shortages of vaccines, drugs and hospital beds.

Having let its guard down with mass religious festivals, political rallies and spectators at cricket matches, India is experiencing a ferocious new wave with around a million new cases in the past week.

After a lockdown a year ago caused widespread misery and one of the sharpest downturns of any major economy, the central government is desperate to avoid a hugely unpopular second shutdown.

But many states are tightening the screw, in particular Maharashtra and its capital, Mumbai, where restaurants are shut and public gatherings of more than five people are banned.

Every weekend until the end of the month, the state’s 125 million people are confined to their homes unless shopping for food, medicine or travelling.

“I’m not for the lockdown at all but I don’t think the government has any other choice,” media professional Neha Tyagi, 27, said in Mumbai.

“This lockdown could have been avoided if people had taken the virus seriously.”

In further grim news, a fire broke in a private hospital in the state, killing four patients, the fire brigade said.

Last month, a blaze at a Mumbai clinic killed 11.

Election rallies in West Bengal are going ahead, however, as is the colossal Kumbh Mela religious festival in Uttarakhand, with millions expected next week by the holy Ganges River.