All 79 Cambodians back from mosque event in Malaysia tested for Covid-19

Travellers wearing full protective suits and masks as a precaution after the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, at Phnom Penh International Airport in Cambodia (March 21). The govt announced that that all 79 Cambodians, who had returned home from a mass religious ceremony in Malaysia, had already been tested for the Covid-19 (coronavirus) symptoms. - Reuters

PHNOM PENH: A senior Cambodian official said on Saturday (March 21) that all 79 Cambodians, who had returned home from a mass religious ceremony in Malaysia, had already been tested for the Covid-19 (coronavirus) symptoms.

Citing a health ministry statement released on Saturday (March 21), Othsman Hassan, a senior minister in charge of the Islamic affairs, said 25 of them had been tested positive for the virus.

"They were infected the virus when they attended the Islamic religious ceremony at Sri Petaling mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (from Feb 27 to March 1)," he said in a press conference here.

Hassan said nearly 300 people, who are the patients' family members and close friends, had also been tested, and the health ministry statement indicated that three of them were positive for the virus.

Cambodia has so far recorded a total of 51 confirmed cases of the Covid-19.

Among them are a Chinese national, three British nationals, 12 Malaysians, two French nationals, a Canadian man, a Belgian man, and 31 Cambodians.

The Chinese patient had recovered and returned home, as the rest have been quarantined at designated hospitals for treatment. - Xinhua/Asian News Network