Visitors cannot visit the temples of Angkor in the next two weeks. The Cambodian government has decided to close the world-famous Angkor temple complex for two weeks in an effort to stop the outbreak of Covid-19 in the country. The closure of this world’s most popular attraction is the latest attempt in a series of measures by the Cambodian government after the number of Covid-19 cases increased rapidly in the “pagoda country” in February. In a notice issued on April 7, the Angkor Population Management Authority said visitors will not be able to visit this UNESCO heritage site from April 7 to April 20. The Angkor complex, located in Siem Reap province, attracted 2.2 million foreign tourists in 2019. But the site also experienced a sharp recession last year due to disruptions caused by the pandemic. cause. Cambodia still allows tourists to enter the country but they have to quarantine before making any trips to the country. On April 8, Cambodia’s Ministry of Health announced that the country had recorded 113 new cases of Covid-19 and two more deaths due to Covid-19. Cambodia has now recorded a total of 3,028 cases of Covid-19, of which 23 were fatal.

As the World Health Organization (WHO) warns, Cambodia is on the brink of disaster, if the people and the Government do not agree to join hands to fight the epidemic, the consequences are unpredictable. More than a year ago, since the epidemic began appearing in early 2020 and until February this year, Cambodia has successfully prevented, only about 500 cases of Covid-19 and no one died. Doctors take samples of Covid-19 for people However, since the outbreak in the community on February 20 until now, Cambodia has found more than 8,100 people infected with Covid-19, more than 5,200 people are being treated and 59 people have died. Phnom Penh capital alone has about 6,000 cases. With the sudden increase in the number of Covid-19 cases, hospitals have become overwhelmed, and some Covid-19 patients have had to self-treat at home. Facing the urgent situation, the Cambodian government had to apply drastic measures such as blocking the entire capital of Phnom Penh and the adjacent city of Ta Khmao for the first time, setting up a curfew, prohibiting travel between localities. , and the creation of “red zones” – high-risk zones in the capital, to stop the infection chain. The blockade order was issued on the night of April 14 and was applied immediately on April 15, so many Cambodians were surprised. When the blockade was executed, people’s lives were more difficult than before, both because of the loss or loss of jobs, and because of isolation and blockade, there were also some people reacting to this order. . But until now, after the propaganda of the government, a large number of people have supported the blockade order, and determined that this is a necessary step to control the epidemic. Economic activity is affected, the government implements support policies In recent years, the Government of Cambodia has used limited and phased administrative measures to ensure efficiency in preventing epidemics and minimizing the impact on the country’s economy. The government also decentralizes the provinces to decide on their own measures of travel restriction, curfew or blockade in their own areas to proactively respond. Accordingly, Preah Sihanouk province has banned people from entering and leaving the province from March 4, the capital Phnom Penh ordered a curfew from 8:00 pm to 5:00 am from April 1, many other provinces such as Kampong Speu, Sieam Reap later That also imposed a curfew in the evening, on April 7, the Cambodian government banned travel between provinces and now the capital Phnom Penh and Takhmao city are completely blocked. The curfew, travel restriction or blockade has affected economic activities, trade of people as well as made the lives of many families difficult. Especially, most affected are those who work in service, food, and unskilled jobs because most of them do not have savings or savings. However, the Government of Cambodia does not ban goods transportation, even encourages businesses to maintain food and food supply activities to ensure people’s lives. The government also has policies to support money, food, food, asking property owners to exempt or reduce rent, banks relax debts and not charge interest to reduce the burden on households suffering from effects of the disease. Coping scripts Covid-19 of Cambodia The epidemic situation in Cambodia is still in a very stressful period with hundreds of new cases detected every day despite drastic measures of the government. Up to now, there have been more than 8,100 cases of Covid-19, of which 7,648 were related to the public infection on February 20. This situation requires the Government of Cambodia to continue to take more effective measures to curb and stop the spread of the disease. After applying a blockade measure with the capital Phnom Penh and Takhmao city, the Phnom Penh government has stepped up a step further by zoning the “red zone” with some high-risk areas, people in This is prohibited from leaving the home for any reason other than medical. Food quantity and food are also transported by the government to the front door of the households. If other regions have more Covid-19 cases, these “red zones” will expand. The government also leaves open the possibility of prolonging the blockade time if the situation does not change positively. In addition to maintaining and controlling strict implementation of the blockade, the Cambodian government also resumed its Covid-19 vaccination campaign with the goal of vaccinating 1 million people a month and will soon vaccinate about 80 people. % of population equivalent to 13 million people. Up to now, Cambodia has injected nearly 1.3 million people, equivalent to 1/16 of the country’s population. Cambodia is one of the countries with the highest proportion of people vaccinated against Covid-19 in the region.

In a message to the people, Prime Minister Hun Sen emphasized that the current emergency situation has caused the Government to decide to block the capital Phnom Penh: “We are standing in front of the pit of death. If we don’t work together, we will fall into this pit of death. I hope that we will turn the current problem into an opportunity, after 14 days we will have the epidemic under control.

Up to now, we have discovered 300 more cases of COVID-19 and lack of treatment. If people do not pay attention to their personal health, they will be in danger, the number of people hospitalized and the number of deaths will continue to increase.“.

On the night of April 14, the Cambodian government issued a decision to block the capital Phnom Penh and Ta khmao city, Kan Dal province to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

With the new blockade, all businesses in Phnom Penh and Takhmao must be temporarily closed, except for stores that sell food, daily necessities and other essential services such as fire, electricity, and clean water. , garbage collection.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. (Photo: Khmer Times)

Residents are only allowed to go out when buying food and necessities periodically, buying medicine or taking medical care. The blockade order will be monitored by the local government and the relevant forces.

Mr. Hun Sen asked Phnom Penh Governor Khuong Sreng to take care of the poor by providing them with rice and other food. The Cambodian leader also ordered the opening of the government’s food stockpile.

The Cambodian Prime Minister appealed to people for understanding and patience during the 14-day blockade.

He also proposed banning the sale of alcoholic beverages nationwide to avoid unnecessary gatherings.

To effectively implement the blockade, Cambodia set up a 19-member national committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister Aun Pornmoniroth.

On April 14, Cambodia recorded more than 300 cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 4,874.