Covid-19 Contact Tracing Spreads to 7 Provinces After Official’s Trip
5 min read
Mech Dara
Tue Nov 10, 2020 6:02 pm
An assistant to Prime Minister HE traveled to coastal provinces to look into land disputes instead of staying in quarantine over the weekend, while a bodyguard visited friends in Takeo province on Monday, leading the search for indirect Covid-19 contacts of a visiting Hungarian foreign minister to spread to at least seven provinces outside Phnom Penh.

More than 1,000 people have been tested in the wake of Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto’s visit last week, and apparent breaches in quarantine have been found as contact tracing, testing and isolation protocols remain opaque.

HE said in an audio recording shared by the Health Ministry on Monday night that officials’ wives had also breached quarantine.

“According to my understanding, on Saturday and Sunday, some officials’ wives considered themselves as [only] indirectly in contact, so they went to participate in this ceremony or that ceremony — this is hugely careless and can cause havoc,” HE said.
He said the negligence needed to end.

“We can beat this situation, but if we continue to be careless and not pay attention to properly implementing quarantine, we will not control the situation anymore,” he said, suggesting that he could declare a state of emergency if necessary.

nemo wrote: ↑Thu Nov 05, 2020 2:09 pm Encouraged masks and hand sanitizing, applied border controls, closed entertainment venues and schools.

A statement issued by the Preah Sihanouk Provincial Education Department on Wednesday said Chumpou Khmao and HE Ream primary schools in Prey Nob district’s Ream commune would be closed for two weeks due to suspected contact with the Covid-19 cluster.

The closures are related to a visit by Doung Dara, an assistant to Prime Minister HE. Dara visited Preah Sihanouk, Kep and Kampot from around Friday to Sunday to look into land disputes despite being a suspected contact of Szijjarto.

Dara on Tuesday refused to answer questions, saying “some news is like sitting to blow smoke onto others” and claimed it would not benefit the nation.

Provincial spokesperson Kheang Phearum added that the province had 220 government officials suspected of contact with Dara — 16 of them direct and 204 indirect. About 40 of them have had samples taken for a Covid-19 test, Phearum said.

Transparency International Cambodia executive director Pech Pisey said officials who have not properly observed quarantine needed to be held accountable.

“When they don’t implement [quarantine], it can cause negative impacts to public health and risk in other places like schools and the general public,” Pisey said. “Our biggest concern is the risk of possible infection in the community.”

CEOCambodiaNews wrote: ↑Thu Nov 12, 2020 2:40 amDara on Tuesday refused to answer questions, saying “some news is like sitting to blow smoke onto others” and claimed it would not benefit the nation.

AndyKK wrote: ↑Sat Nov 07, 2020 11:18 am I would think that most Cambodians are very relaxed on the prevention of Covid19, such has face masks, distancing and hand washing.