RCAF commander-in-chief General Vong Pisen. Ministry of Defence
The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) has told military personnel to strictly follow health measures even after vaccination after an officer tested positive for Covid-19 despite having received two doses of the Sinopharm vaccine.
RCAF commander-in-chief General Vong Pisen said the novel coronavirus continues to spread in Phnom Penh and the provinces and had recently been transmitted to some RCAF units as well, although the Ministry of National Defence has vaccinated almost all members of the armed forces across the country.
“To prevent, protect and stop the Covid-19 pandemic in our military ranks, we must continue to strictly implement the government’s three protections and three don’ts,” he said.
In an audio message addressing military personnel, RCAF deputy commander-in-chief Lieutenant General Hun Manet confirmed that a trainee from the National Defence University had contracted the virus despite having receiving a second shot of the vaccine.
“Please warn all trainees as well as all units in the field to increase their vigilance in the prevention of Covid-19 because we are going through a large-scale community outbreak and it is not yet over,” he said.
Dara Sakal, a trainee at the university, was given his first dose of the Sinopharm vaccine on February 19 and the second on March 9. He then tested positive for Covid-19 on March 17.
Meanwhile, Minister of Labour and Vocational Training Ith Sam Heng has established a sub-committee to arrange vaccinations for civil servants at the ministry, leaders of trade unions and vocational organisations, workers and employers, as well as those in the informal economy.
The decision to establish this sub-committee came after Prime Minister Hun Sen set up a national committee on March 17 aimed at organising and managing Covid-19 vaccinations across the country.
Sam Heng has appointed labour ministry spokesman Heng Sour as head of the sub-committee.
“This sub-committee needs to prepare plans and identify priority areas in Phnom Penh and the provinces, including factories, enterprises and any places with a large number of workers for vaccination,” Sam Heng said in a letter dated March 17.
Fa Saly, president of the National Trade Union Confederation, told The Post on March 18 he supported prioritising vaccination for workers in factories and the restaurant, hospitality and tourism sectors first.
He said union leaders should be vaccinated only after the regular workers in the factories and other enterprises.
“If our country receives more vaccines, I think factory workers should be inoculated prior to the average citizen because workers are eating, travelling and working in groups and thereby posing high risks. Workers in the tourism sector should also be prioritised,” he said.
The Ministry of Health on March 18 reported another 36 Covid-19 cases, all but one of which were linked to the February 20 community outbreak, bringing the total to 1,025 in less than one month.
The ministry also announced the recovery of 58 Covid-19 patients, of whom 54 were linked to the February 20 event.
As of March 18, Cambodia had recorded a total of 1,541 Covid-19 cases, with 640 receiving ongoing treatment and one confirmed death.
Prak Sokhonn, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said more vaccines are expected to touch down in the country within the next two to three weeks.
Sokhonn made the remarks during a meeting with Louise Mushikiwabo, secretary-general of the International Organisation of la Francophonie (OIF), on March 16 on the topic of distributing Covid-19 vaccines in an equitable and universal manner within the framework of the COVAX initiative and with the EU.
In press release on March 18, Sokhonn said: “No country can be considered safe until all countries are safe. Vaccines are the only solution for returning the world to normalcy.”
Mushikiwabo also praised Cambodia for introducing effective measures during the pandemic.
The Kingdom has so far received 600,000 doses out of the one million doses of Sinopharm vaccines donated by China, with the remaining 400,000 doses expected to arrive before Khmer New Year in April.
The first shipment of 324,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine arrived in Cambodia on March 2. It is the first batch out of a total of 1.1 million doses to be delivered through COVAX to Cambodia by the end of May.
