Health Ministry officials are still waiting for a directive from Minister Mam Bun Heng before moving forward with plans to build a special facility to store COVID- 19 vaccines.

Heath Ministry spokeswoman Or Vandine said yesterday they are waiting to receive updates on the situation from Bun Heng on building a warehouse with facilities to store vaccines which have to be kept in sub-zero temperatures to remain effective.

On December 15, Prime Minister Hun Sen said that Cambodia is ready to build a warehouse to store the COVID-19 vaccine.

Speaking to the nation through TVK, Mr Hun Sen said Cambodia has prepared a procedure to obtain 6.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine via  the World Health Organization-led Covax initiative for 3.2 million people.

“A warehouse is ready to be built with a temperature of -80 degrees Celsius to store the vaccine,” he said. “In the past, the government installed air conditioners at the health centres to store vaccines, but now we also need to build [a warehouse] to store the COVID-19 vaccine, including the needles.”

He said once the COVID-19 vaccine is available, Cambodia will have a warehouse to store it.

Mr Hun Sen also ordered the Ministers of Health and Finance to discuss the purchase of a vaccine-stored truck that could provide a cold temperature.

A vaccine developed by Pfizer requires storage at -70 degrees Celsius and refrigeration equipment costs up to $20,000, according to international media outlets.

However, other vaccines developed, such as China’s Sinovac, can be stored at normal fridge temperatures of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius.

It is understood that any refrigeration facility built will have regulated temperatures accordingly.

On vaccine orders, Vandine said yesterday the government had pre-ordered doses through the Covax facility in the middle of December but offered no further details on when the first shipment might arrive in Cambodia.

The Prime Minister previously said he was waiting for a vaccine to be approved by the WHO. The Pfizer vaccine was approved on December 31 by the WHO for emergency use and has started to be rolled out in Asia. Singapore was the first territory to start vaccinating with Pfizer on December 30 and the Philippines approved the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use yesterday.

The WHO has said it is also looking to approve the use of other types of vaccines being developed. It also said that it will start rolling out vaccine doses under the Covax initiative from the first quarter of this year to countries which have signed up for them.

Meanwhile, the Phnom Penh Quarantine Center has opened its gates and currently has about 200 guests quarantining in the four-building complex.

Phnom Penh City Hall spokesman Met Meas Pheakdey reaffirmed yesterday that the centre will only welcome Cambodian guests, who can serve their quarantine there for free. Foreigners still must deposit $2,000 and are sent randomly to different hotels throughout Phnom Penh.

As Khmer Times has previously reported, the quarantine experience can vary greatly between hotels. Some hotels offer a full menu of food to choose from while others force those in quarantine to pay $30 per day for basic and sometimes unappetising meals served with rice.

Some quarantined guests at the new centre, which is located about 15km north of Phnom Penh International Airport in the capital’s Prek Pnov district, have reported that they aren’t provided with enough quality food or water each day.

But Meas Pheakdey said each guest is provided with three meals per day – consisting of a box of rice with meats and vegetables and soup – and three bottles of water per day. Guests could request more water if they desired, he said.

One woman currently in quarantine said when she landed in Phnom Penh, she was given the option to stay in a hotel – where she would have had to pay – or stay in the new centre for free.

She said she was pleased with the accommodation provided at the new centre. Each person has a room with a bed and a fan and guests are allowed to exercise outside, she added.

The quarantined guest said she had to ask her family to deliver food because the food provided didn’t suit her taste.

On Tuesday, family members and friends of those quarantined stopped by to deliver food and drinks to them. They were allowed to hand over their items at the gates.

Leang Eang, the relative of a person being quarantined at the centre said he had travelled from Kampong Cham province to bring drinking water and food to his relative.

Eang confirmed that his relative received one bottle of water and a rice box with soup for each meal.

“I think that sometimes the food in the centre is just a kind of soup which she cannot eat. So I bought dried fish and pork to give her and brought water and food from outside to give her,” he said.

Another relative of someone currently in quarantine at the new centre, who asked not to be named, had also travelled to bring extra supplies to a loved one.

A woman quarantining in the centre, who asked not to be named, said that the food offered was enough for her, but she guessed the portion for a man it may not be sufficient.

She added that the lack of water was her biggest concern. She said she asked the staff at the centre for more water, but they refused and she had to call her family to send extra food and water.

“Accommodation is comfortable, but the centre does not seem to have enough cleaning materials, including brooms, toilets and soap,” she added.

“I would like to request the head of the centre and ministry officials, if possible, please provide two bottles of drinking water per day for one meal, as well as bathroom soap. Brooms should also be provided to each room, otherwise there is nothing to clean with”, she said.

In a related development, the Health Ministry yesterday reported that Cambodia registered an alarming 13 cases of COVID-19 positive cases on Wednesday.

Eight were migrant workers and five were imported cases who entered Cambodia via Phnom Penh International airport.

The eight migrant workers cluster cases now brought that total to 41, equalling the November 28 Community Incident which forced schools and many other places to be closed.

Those who tested positive are a 22-year-old woman, a 38-year-old woman, both from Sen Sok commune, Kralanh district, Siem Reap province and had arrived in Cambodia on Monday, a 29-year-old woman from Poipet city, Banteay Meanchey province, a 22-year-old man, a 23-year-old woman, a 23-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman, all of whom are also from Poipet city, Banteay Meanchey province and who arrived in Cambodia on Monday.

They are currently being treated at Banteay Meanchey Provincial Referral Hospital.

The last case involves a 36-year-old woman from Boeng Reang commune, Kamrieng district, Battambang province who had travelled from Thailand to Cambodia on December 31. The results of the second test on January 13 turned out positive.

She is currently being treated at the Battambang Provincial Referral Hospital.

The imported cases involve a 36-year-old Cambodian woman, a 17-year-old Cambodian woman, both from Poipet city, Banteay Meanchey province, a passenger who flew in from the United States via Singapore on Tuesday, a 34-year-old Indonesian man, who flew into Cambodia from Indonesia via Singapore on Tuesday and a 33-year-old Indonesian woman who flew in from Indonesia via Singapore on the same date.

Additional reporting by Sela Buth

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