Phnom Penh has announced 35 confirmed cases in the country, up from 12 on Sunday, most of them people who had recently travelled overseas
The country has also barred people travelling from Germany, France, Spain and Iran for the next 30 days
Danielle Keeton-Olsen
Published: 9:00am, 19 Mar, 2020
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A policeman in Phnom Penh some passers-by wear face masks amid the spread of the novel coronavirus. Photo: AFP
Cambodia’s relaxed approach to the global spread of the novel coronavirus has taken a dramatic turn, with its number of cases almost tripling from the weekend.
Phnom Penh on Wednesday announced there were 37 confirmed cases in the country, up from 12 on Sunday. Most of them are foreign nationals or locals who had recently travelled overseas, with at least 24 having at the end of last month attended a gathering at a Kuala Lumpur mosque, which has been linked to more than 400 cases in Malaysia.
Foreign travellers from the United States, Germany, France, Spain and Italy have been barred entry for 30 days starting from Tuesday, with a ban of the same duration imposed on foreigners from Iran beginning on Wednesday.
The government has tested a total of 1,112 people, according to health ministry spokeswoman Or Vandine, but she did not clarify if that included the passengers and crew of the Westerdam, a cruise ship that docked in Cambodia last month after multiple countries barred it from entering over coronavirus fears.
Prime Minister Hun Sen greeted and hugged Westerdam passengers as they disembarked in Sihanoukville on February 14, but Cambodia’s attitude towards tourists soured after a Viking River Cruises ship in Ho Chi Minh City last week carried three British nationals who later tested positive for the virus.
The 61 other passengers and crew from the ship have been quarantined in a hotel in Kampong Cham province, southeast of Cambodia, drawing complaints from an American couple who said the hotel was dirty and filled with insects.
In a speech at a festival in the northwestern province of Battambang on Saturday, Hun Sen told the crowd that an unnamed embassy official had asked him to transfer the passengers to another location, but he had refused.
“I would like to send a message to that embassy official … this is not your land. I need to prioritise the health of my own people. I beg for your understanding,” he said, according to The Phnom Penh
US embassy spokeswoman Emily Zeeberg would not comment on the cruise ship, other than to confirm the embassy was aware US citizens were quarantined in the Kampong Cham hotel and that it was providing help.
In a Sunday travel alert emailed to US citizens about Cambodia’s travel restrictions, the embassy noted it was unclear whether all Americans, or just recent visitors to the US, would be blocked.
The ban on foreign nationals has left some tourists and foreigners living in Cambodia reeling.
Norinda Khek – communications director for Cambodia Airports, which holds a monopoly on international airports in the country – said inbound and outbound traffic from Cambodia’s three international airports had dropped 35.4 per cent in the first 17 days of March.
He did not know how many people had been referred for testing because health screenings at the airports are managed by Health Ministry, but said some airport staff had been asked to take coronavirus tests after assisting passengers who were later suspected of having the virus.
The French embassy in Cambodia did not respond to requests for comment, stating they were busy with consular requests, but some French nationals had expressed confusion about their situation.
Clemence Jounot, a French volunteer working in Kampong Cham province, said she had called the embassy in Phnom Penh to seek help as her Cambodian visa had expired, but she was still waiting on a response. She said she was especially concerned about health care in Cambodia, both for herself and the community in Kampong Cham with which she volunteers.
“I don’t want to be scared or panic,” Jounot said in a message. “I just want to protect myself but everything changes so quickly.”
A man gets his temperature checked before entering a bank in Phnom Penh. Photo: AFP
Thong Chea, the founder of Vana Adventure Travel in Phnom Penh, said all of his 10 bookings between Sunday and April 1 had been axed. He said he had decided to cancel all tours before April 20, or until the government or World Health Organisation released another update on the situation.
For Steve Lidgey, the general manager of Siem Reap-based tour outlet Travel Asia a la Carte, the travel ban flung several of his customers into disarray. He said German guests of his agency were not allowed to enter the country and other German guests were trying to reschedule earlier flights after the ban went into effect.
A group of Australian nationals planning to enter Cambodia from Vietnam had also been warned by their travel agent to return to their home country, Lidgey said.
“At least we are coming into low season soon, so lost bookings in April to September won’t be too much,” he said, noting his company and others would still have to reduce employees’ hours and salaries. “It will hurt those who work with Spanish and Italian markets who travel a lot in the summer.”
Ashley Thuthao Keng Dam, a 24-year-old doctoral student from Maryland, who planned to conduct research in Cambodia until May, had not been worried about the virus when they departed their school, the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy on February 18.
Cases in Italy spiked soon after Dam arrived in Cambodia, with more than 31,000 people infected.
“We thought it would pass over. Famous last words,” Dam said, noting they were unsure yet where to go at the end of their research. “I haven’t reached out to any embassies because I don’t think it’s serious enough for me to go, and I don’t know why I would attempt that because I would be stranded.”
Dam said they were still conducting anthropological research, but they were concerned about completing their PhD on time.
Cambodia shut down schools nationwide on Saturday, while all karaoke parlours and cinemas are closed. The Cambodia International Film Festival, which started on March 13 and was meant to last for a week, on Tuesday cancelled all related events.
Only a handful of bars and restaurants have closed amid the pandemic, but law enforcement officers on Tuesday ordered bars in Bassac Lane, a popular nightlife street, to shut early, according to reports on social media.
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