No Covid-19 deaths reported in Cambodia since April, says PM Hun Sen

SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Oct. 21 (Xinhua): Cambodia has seen no new deaths from Covid-19 since April, Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said Friday.

"This is a success that resulted from our joint efforts in the fight against Covid-19," he said in a speech during a visit to thousands of families, who had agreed to move their illegal buildings out of the famed Angkor Archaeological Park.

He said the Southeast Asian nation reported zero Covid-19 cases for the first time on Friday after daily cases had been detected since late June.

"Today, Cambodia found no even a single case of Covid-19," Hun Sen said.

However, Cambodia is not Covid-19-free yet, as it still has 53 active cases, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH).

Thong Mengdavid, a research fellow at the Phnom Penh-based Asian Vision Institute, attributed the success in the pandemic fight to the kingdom's strong leadership and high vaccination rates.

The kingdom has so far vaccinated at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccines to 15.21 million people, or 95 percent of its 16 million population, the MoH said, adding that 14.57 million of the population, or 91 percent, have been fully vaccinated with two required shots.

Also, 10.26 million, or 64 percent, have got a third dose, and 4.47 million, or almost 28 percent, have had a fourth dose, and 1 million, or 6.2 percent have received a fifth dose, the MoH said.

China's Sinovac and Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccines have been widely used in the country's immunization program.

Mengdavid said Chinese Covid-19 vaccines have not only helped protect the lives of Cambodian people, but also boosted the economic growth in the kingdom.

"China was the first country to help Cambodia in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic," he said.

"And from the very beginning, Cambodia's choice of China as the strategic vaccine supplier was absolutely right." - Xinhua