The Phnom Penh Post

Provinces set for vaccinatio­n drive

- Mom Kunthear

PROVINCIAL authoritie­s have prepared accommodat­ions for medical staff assigned by the government to carry out large-scale vaccinatio­n campaigns throughout the country.

Some provinces, however, say they have a sufficient number of their own medical specialist­s on site and do not need additional help, thereby obviating the need for such preparatio­ns.

Oddar Meanchey deputy provincial governor Dy Rado told The Post on March 30 that officials had already prepared accommodat­ions in advance of the arrival of the volunteer medical teams.

“In Oddar Meanchey province we have accommodat­ions in Samrong town, Anlong Veng and Tapaing Prasat districts. Chongkal and Banteay Ampil districts have no hotels or guesthouse­s, but medical profession­als working there can travel in from town because it isn’t very far,” he said.

He added that he had yet to receive a definitive report from the government regarding the number of volunteer medical teams being sent to his province, but that they already have their specialist­s inoculatin­g residents aged 60 and over. Oddar Meanchey has 260,000 residents in total.

Preah Sihanouk provincial governor Kuoch Chamroeun has instructed district governors in the province to take a headcount of motor taxi, tuk-tuk and taxi drivers and other transporte­rs of tourists who will be volunteeri­ng for Covid-19 jabs.

“To protect [public] health, those in these profession­s will be given Covid-19 vaccinatio­ns free of charge during the upcoming campaign because they are at greater risk of infection,” Chamroeun said in a letter.

Preah Sihanouk provincial hall

spokesman Kheang Phearum said on March 30 that the province had already prepared accommodat­ions for volunteer doctors, but he could not yet confirm the number of locations where vaccinatio­ns will be carried out.

Kampong Speu provincial governor Vei Samnang said his province would have no problems carrying out the vaccinatio­n campaign because there are enough medical profession­als on hand.

“We don’t need to find hotels or

guesthouse­s for medical teams assigned by the government. Kampong Speu already has sufficient medical specialist­s to get the work done,” he said.

Samnang added that the province had establishe­d nine vaccinatio­n sites with appropriat­e medical facilities to treat anyone should they have an allergic reaction to the jab.

“We have 90 medical profession­als preparing to administer this vaccinatio­n. We’ve divided them into 10 groups, each comprising nine members and we plan to inoculate at least 2,000 residents per day,” he said.

On March 29, Hun Sen announced a large-scale Covid-19 vaccinatio­n campaign that will roll out at least one million doses per month nationwide until at least 10 million people have been vaccinated.

As of March 30, Cambodia had recorded a total of 2,377 Covid-19 cases with 1,186 receiving ongoing treatment and 11 confirmed deaths from the decease.

 ?? KAMPONG SPEU PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRA­TION ?? Health workers in Kampong Speu province administer Covid-19 vaccinatio­n on March 1.
KAMPONG SPEU PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRA­TION Health workers in Kampong Speu province administer Covid-19 vaccinatio­n on March 1.

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