Pandemic in Cambodia not over yet though daily cases drop to two digits, says WHO

A woman is buying vegetables at a morning market along a street in Phnom Penh. - AFP

PHNOM PENH, April 2 (Xinhua): World Health Organisation (WHO) representative to Cambodia Li Ailan said on Saturday that the Covid-19 pandemic in the country is not over yet, though the number of new infections has once again declined to two digits.

The South-East Asian nation registered 32 new COovid-19 cases on Saturday, and all were confirmed to be the Omicron variant, with no new fatalities, the health ministry said, adding that to date, the country had recorded 135,714 cases with 131,940 recoveries and 3,054 deaths.

"The pandemic is not over yet. The Omicron variant is still here with us in Cambodia," Li wrote on social media.

"COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination remain one of the most effective tools to help us save lives, protect health, especially for the vulnerable, and keep Cambodia reopening safely and sustainably," she said.

The Heath ministry's secretary of state and spokeswoman Or Vandine said Saturday that the COVAX Facility on Friday decided to increase its COVID-19 vaccine support to Cambodia from 20 percent to 30 percent of the kingdom's total population.

Cambodia has administered the first dose of Covid-19 vaccines to 14.8 million people, or 92.5 per cent of its 16 million population, she said.

Most of the vaccines used in the country's inoculation drive are China's Sinovac and Sinopharm.

With its high vaccination rates, Cambodia has fully resumed its socio-economic activities and reopened its borders to fully vaccinated travelers without quarantine since November last year. - Xinhua