PM Hun Sen says Covid-19 vaccines help restore all socio-economic activities in Cambodia

Tourists gather to watch the sun rise over the Angkor Wat temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Siem Reap province on April 8, 2022. - AFP

PHNOM PENH, April 12 (Xinhua): Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said here on Tuesday that the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines has helped revive all socio-economic activities in the South-East Asian nation.

Cambodia launched a national vaccination campaign in February 2021, with China being the key vaccine supplier and most of the jabs used in the country's immunization program are Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines.

According to the prime minister, the southeast Asian nation achieved strong Covid-19 herd immunity in just about eight months after its launch of the inoculation drive.

Hun Sen said this brilliant achievement has enabled Cambodia to reopen the country in all sectors since November 2021, and maintain normal socio-economic activities up until now, despite continued threats from the spread of Covid-19, especially the Omicron variant of the virus.

"This reflects the effectiveness of vaccines, which have allowed Cambodia to live with Covid-19 in a new normal, in a resilient and safe manner," he said during a handover ceremony of 325,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine donated from India.

"As a result, recently, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has forecasted that Cambodia's economy will likely grow by 5.3 percent and 6.5 percent in 2022 and in 2023, respectively," he added.

Meanwhile, Hun Sen also called on people to continue to strictly take health measures, especially in celebrating the Khmer New Year on April 14 to 16.

World Health Organisation (WHO) representative to Cambodia Li Ailan on Sunday praised Cambodia for achieving the impressively high COVID-19 vaccination coverage.

"The successful vaccine rollout helped save many lives, protect health and contribute to economic recovery," she wrote on social media.

Cambodia has so far administered one dose of Covid-19 vaccines to 14.84 million people, or 92.8 percent of its 16 million population, the health ministry said, adding that of them, 14.1 million, or 88.1 per cent, have been fully vaccinated with two required shots.

The kingdom reported 17 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, all being infections with the Omicron variant, with no new fatalities, the health ministry said, adding that to date, the country has recorded a total of 135,980 cases with 132,666 recoveries and 3,055 deaths. - Xinhua