HEADLINE: COVID-19 PANDEMIC: PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – 100 days of mayhem: Feb 20 event the ‘smoking gun’ behind C-19 surge
Cambodia
There has been 616 new positive case of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Cambodia. The tally is at 30,710. 220 deaths. Total recovered at 23,389.
As the Kingdom continues to reel from the devastation caused by Covid-19, yesterday marked the 100th day since the infamous February 20 Community Event which many believe is the “smoking gun” behind the tremendous surge in infections which have also resulted in fatalities.
Before that day, Cambodia only had 366 cases since the first one was detected in Sihanoukville in January 2020. There were no deaths.
However, after the community event the Kingdom now has logged a whopping 30,710 infections and 220 deaths across the capital and 24 provinces.
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Cambodians persevered and overcame the hurdles and deadly obstacles when combatting the Covid-19 pandemic for more than three months, but the number of infections has still not declined.
The February 20 event was sparked by the selfish acts of four Chinese women who bribed their way out of quarantine to meet “prearranged clients” at several locations in the capital.
Two of them had Covid-19 and from then onwards a knock-on effect began to take a grim grip on those who came into contact with the women and subsequently spread the disease to others.
This prompted a serious response by the authorities to control the situation, including harsh measures such as lockdowns and curfews which caused hardship among people already suffering from the global economic fallout also caused by Covid-19.
Such harsh measures have been lifted to ease the people’s burdens but the fight against the virus scourge continues in earnest.
While the virus is still making its rounds in the country, people are more aware, take preventive measures without hefty fines and punishments and that is the secret of the success in holding the virus at bay, though the numbers seem staggering when compared to the same period in 2020.
Efforts by recalcitrant Cambodians are still there, the so-called champions of democracy with incoherent policies except demagogy tried their ridiculous best to derail the government’s efforts to safeguard the people.
Prime Minister Hun Sen stuck to his guns and his policies, deployed the army to take over vaccinations and hardly any country in the region or elsewhere can boast of such achievements.
Over two million people were vaccinated within 110 days and the government hopes to inoculate up to six million people, not just Cambodians but also those expatriates working and living in Cambodia and diplomatic corps, which is just four million short of its targeted 80 percent vaccinated or 10 million people to attain herd immunity.
Phnom Penh Governor Khuong Sreng told Khmer Times yesterday that during the 100 days since the February 20 event, Phnom Penh authorities, including the Ministry of Health, were working to prevent the spread of the disease in a timely manner. There are many results involved in preventing large-scale infections.
“We were able to control the February 20 Community Event in time. This pandemic is not only in Cambodia. It is a global problem but we have prevented it from spreading and stopped it from spreading to other areas,” Sreng said.
Sreng added that the recent lockdown of Phnom Penh was intended to cut off transmission in order to maintain the longevity and well-being of the people.
He added that now Cambodia has much more experience in dealing with the bad situation caused by Covid-19.
Sreng added that the efforts were recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) which praised the government’s many measures to prevent Covid-19 quickly.
“I estimate that through the cooperation between the World Health Organization, the Ministry of Health and the Phnom Penh Municipal authorities, Cambodia will be able to successfully put an end to the February 20 Community Event’s scourge,” he said.
Health Ministry spokeswoman Or Vandine said yesterday that the February 20 Community Event recently was a high risk situation.
“So far we cannot end the February 20 Community Event, because we see that the number of infections have risen to between 500 and 600 cases daily. There were also some people who were unaware they were infected with Covid-19 and now health teams are searching for them to take their samples for testing,” she said.
Tep Pechara, a company employee in Phnom Penh, said that the February 20 event was terribly disruptive and claimed the lives of hundreds of Cambodians, wrecked the national economy as well as disrupted business activities in almost all areas.
“I hope that the February 20 event will come to a close in the near future, because I have been facing many problems such as food shortages, work suspension, no income to support my family and curfews which almost drove me crazy,” Pechara said.
Reach Sey, a resident of Por Senchey district, said that the February 20 event made him and his family very scared, because for almost three months since the outbreak of Covid-19, he could not do business as before, especially during the capital’s lockdown and the curfew. He said he lost thousands of dollars.
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Sey added that even though the authorities have now allowed businesses to resume, some residents still seem to be scared and do not want to travel outside. As a result his fruit wholesale business is not doing as well as before.
“Over the past 100 days, I think I am not the only one faced with a bad situation and other families have been affected by Covid-19 pandemic, too,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health yesterday reported 753 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number in the Kingdom to 30,710. Of the new cases, 31 are imported and the rest are linked to the February 20 Community Event.
The ministry also announced five more people died from Covid-19, bringing the total number of fatalities to 220.
The ministry also recorded 753 new recoveries, bringing the total number to 23,389.
The Kampong Cham provincial administration yesterday identified 31 new cases of Covid-19 patients, most of them factory workers. There were 60 new recoveries.
The Banteay Meanchey provincial administration yesterday announced the discovery of 39 new cases of Covid-19, including factory workers and market vendors from Thailand. There were 66 patients who have recovered.
