While Cambodia is open to tourists, Thailand is reintroducing restrictions.

December 31, 2021
No omicron lockdown: Ministry says high vaccination rate and preventive measures are enough

Despite detecting almost 50 cases of the Omicron variant so far, the government will not impose a lockdown or work from home precaution like in neighbouring Thailand.

This is because of the high vaccination rate achieved since the fight against Covid-19 began.

Ministry of Health spokesman Hok Kimcheng told Khmer Times yesterday that the Kingdom has nearly reached the herd immunity goal as almost 15 million people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 and its variants. Hence the government won’t impose a lockdown or other measures besides following and practicing existing preventive measures more cautiously.

“Of the 47 Omicron cases confirmed in the Kingdom, two have recovered. The cases were identified through air passengers and no cases of this variant were found in the local population,” he said.

“Covid-19 virus has mutated into many forms. Omicron is not the first variant that transformed from the Covid-19 virus. We have dealt with many of those and patients with Omicron are displaying milder symptoms compared with the Delta variant which caused hundreds of fatalities,” Kimcheng added.

“The high vaccination coverage, practicing the 3 Do’s, 3 Don’ts, following government preventive guidelines, getting fully vaccinated and taking booster shots once they are available for your group ages will shield our country from Omicron transmission in local populations,” he noted.

Kimcheng said that being fully vaccinated or having taken a booster alone won’t prevent any infection from Covid-19 and its variants.

He added that for full protection, people should also continue to practice the preventive measures.

Kimcheng pointed out that Prime Minister HE and officials have urged the people to live with the virus in a new normal and whether there will be a lockdown or not depends on each person following their duty to prevent an outbreak in the community.

“Government officials are working to keep international border virus transmissions under control and people must strictly follow the preventive measure to avoid having lockdowns, zoning, studying online and losing jobs again. The lesson from the past should be learned,” he added.

Meanwhile, the journey toward the reopening of Cambodia’s neighbour Thailand has taken a different turn after it has rescinded its quarantine free entry policy because of Omicron.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50998020/n ... re-enough/

Siem Reap: Bumper New Year celebrations were held in Siem Reap and nearly 200,000 tourists visited Siem Reap resorts on New Year's Day.

Siem Reap: Bumper New Year celebrations were held in Siem Reap and nearly 200,000 tourists visited Siem Reap resorts on New Year's Day.

The acid test.

Thousands were out mixing and sharing the latest COVID virus around Pub square on New Year's Eve. I'd expect a super cluster after this event. No worries. I'm not a fear-monger, just describing what I saw in this video linked below. Just the first few minutes is enough to see the potential. Anyway, we'll likely all get it soon. So we might as well get on with it. I do think though that 200,000 visitors (in the headline above) sounds over the top.

ATF’s TRAVEX 2022 Officially Kicks Off in Sihanoukville (VIDEO)
19/01/22 14:41

Sihanoukville (FN), Jan. 19 – Cambodian prime minister HE cut the ribbon to officially launch the TRAVEX of ASEAN Tourism Forum 2022.

The launching ceremony, held on Wednesday, took place at Sokha Beach Hotel, Sihanoukville, with the participation of many national and international guests.

TRAVEX 2022 will host 187 booths, including 61 international booths from Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand.

On 18 January 2022, premier HE presided over the opening of the 40th ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF 2022) in Sihanoukville.

The ATF 2022, held in Cambodia, is a good opportunity to reopen ASEAN tourism officially and reaffirm Cambodia as a safe tourism destination in the region.
=FRESH NEWS

AirAsia resumes flights to Phnom Penh, offers exciting deals
Thursday, 27 Jan 2022 12:22 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 — AirAsia has resumed flights to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, offering flights from RM194 one-way for travel between now and March 23, and other exciting deals to celebrate the resumption.

In a statement today, it said the inaugural service on an Airbus A320 aircraft departed Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) at 12.40pm yesterday via flight AK 538.

“Fully vaccinated travellers from Malaysia who wish to travel to Cambodia must meet the requirements set by the Cambodian government prior to purchasing their flights and upon arrival,” it said.

Guests can secure great value flights and hotel deals of up to 30 per cent off through the ‘SNAP’ icon on the Super App, as well as book their hotels separately under the “Hotels'' icon with savings up to 10 per cent using the promo code AAHOTEL10.

AirAsia Malaysia chief executive officer Riad Asmat said AirAsia is proud to support this initiative by the Cambodian government and looks forward to launching more flights to the country soon.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/life/202 ... ls/2037915

Special luggage allowance offer on flights to Phnom Penh
Bangkok Airways resume Cambodia flights
ByAsian Aviation Staff -
30/01/2022

Starting from 1 February 2022, Bangkok Airways will increase its direct service between Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) and Phnom Penh (Cambodia) to be twice-daily flights to support the increasing travel demand between the two cities. The added services between Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) and Phnom Penh (Cambodia) will be operated by Airbus A319 or A320 aircraft. The outbound flight PG935 departs Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi International airport) at 17.20hrs. and arrives at Phnom Penh International Airport at 18.35hrs. The inbound flight PG936 leaves Phnom Penh International airport at 19.25hrs. and arrives Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi International airport) at 20.40hrs.

Additionally, Bangkok Airways is currently offering an extra 10 kilograms baggage allowance for all passengers traveling on Bangkok – Phnom Penh flights, where Economy passengers are offered a total of 30 kilograms baggage allowance while Business Class passengers are offered 50 kilograms. The added privilege is available until 26 March 2022 and is valid on Bangkok Airways (PG) operating flights.
https://asianaviation.com/airasia-bangk ... a-network/