Cambodia’s Delta variant cases rise to 3,731 with 408 new infections

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 10– Cambodia’s Ministry of Health said Friday that the total number of Delta variant cases in the Southeast Asian country has surged to 3,731 after 408 new ones were detected. Cambodia launched an inoculation drive against the pandemic in February, targeting to vaccinate 12 million people, or 75 percent of the kingdom’s 16 million population, by…

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) — Cambodia’s Ministry of Health (MoH) said Friday that the total number of Delta variant cases in the Southeast Asian country has surged to 3,731 after 408 new ones were detected.

A total of 1,256 cases have been confirmed in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, as the rest were found in 23 provinces, the MoH said in a statement, adding that to date, only Kep province has been spared from this highly contagious strain of the COVID-19 virus.

Health Minister Mam Bunheng renewed his call for the public to be extra vigilant as the Delta variant is more transmissible than other previously circulating strains.

“We have to adapt to the new normal in order to prevent and contain the spread of COVID-19, especially its variants,” he said in the statement.

He also urged people to continue wearing a face mask, washing hands frequently, maintaining physical distancing, and avoiding crowded places, and to go for free COVID-19 vaccines when their turns come.

Cambodia launched an inoculation drive against the pandemic in February, targeting to vaccinate 12 million people, or 75 percent of the kingdom’s 16 million population, by the end of this year.

Most of the vaccines used in its immunization program are China’s Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines.

As of Sept. 9, some 11.38 million people, or 71.16 percent of the total population, had received at least one vaccine dose, while 9.25 million, or 57.8 percent, had received both required doses and 726,040 had received a third dose or booster dose, the MoH said.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Friday that Cambodia has become one of the countries in the region and in the world to have achieved remarkably high rate of COVID-19 vaccination for its people.

“Cambodia will be able to achieve the goal of developing national herd immunity, and to gradually reopen socio-economic activities in the very near future,” he said. Enditem