The Phnom Penh Municipal Administration has extended the suspension of state-run markets and improvised ones – such as those located on the streets, near hospitals, factories or residential areas – for another week effective through May 14.

The decision signed by governor Khuong Sreng on May 6 said the extension was intended to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the capital.

Deputy governor Koeut Chher said in a press conference on May 6 that such suspension had contributed to the cutoff of virus transmission chain. Otherwise, he said, the community outbreak would have become uncontrollable.

Such suspension was first announced after hundreds of vendors and security guards at a number of markets throughout the capital tested positive for Covid-19.