Two in Cambodia test positive

Malaysian duo attended tabligh event in Sri Petaling

PETALING JAYA: Two Malaysians in Cambodia have tested positive for Covid-19, taking the number of infected Malaysians in the kingdom to five.

They are among 13 Malaysians from the Markas Dakwah Tabligh Malaysia in Sri Petaling who are now in Kampot, a southern Cambodian city about 155km from Phnom Penh.

The Malaysians, all in their 50s and above, had boarded a flight to the kingdom’s capital city on March 11.

Testing was carried out on two groups of Malaysians on Monday. The first group of five had three tested positive, as confirmed by the Cambodia Ministry of Health.

The second group of eight had two reportedly testing positive but it was not confirmed by the ministry as of yesterday.

“We detected two more cases involving Malaysians,” said Health Ministry spokesman Or Vandine during a press conference at the Council of Ministers yesterday.

The presence of Malaysian missionaries and the return of Cambodians who participated in the tabligh gathering in Sri Petaling has sparked fears of a spike in the number of Covid-19 infections in Cambodia.

The first three Malaysians confirmed to be infected with the virus, aged 58, 61 and 66, are being treated at the Kep provincial hospital, according to the Phnom Penh Post.

Six Cambodians who attended the tabligh event in Kuala Lumpur are also being treated for Covid-19 in Phnom Penh.

The Phnom Penh Post reported that it spoke to one of those who tested positive. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said he travelled to Malaysia on Feb 27 to attend the event, where he and the other attendees were grouped according to nationality.

“We all ate together. I mostly spent time with my friends and with a few people from the Philippines and Indonesia,” he said.

Meanwhile, Khmer Times reported that the tabligh participants had entered Cambodia for smaller gatherings as a major gathering, scheduled for March 13 and 14, was cancelled.

The tabligh congregation in Sri Petaling had an estimated 16,000 participants. It is believed that at least 74 Cambodians had attended the congregation while scores of others had travelled there to set up stalls in a bazaar.