Only three out of the nearly 500 Military Police officers who underwent Covid-19 tests were found to have contracted the virus, according to commander General Sao Sokha.

Sokha told The Post that the testing has been administered by the National Military Police for a week and will continue until everyone is tested. The testing started on May 10 at the National Military Police headquarters in Phnom Penh using Covid-19 rapid antigen tests.

He said the testing requirement for Military Police came after they had been assigned to enforce the government’s lockdown orders in Phnom Penh.

The three officers who tested positive for the virus are in good condition and are getting treatment at a medical facility.

“The rapid tests showed that most of them do not have the disease. We have only found three cases and they are not among those deployed in the recent lockdown mission.

“They might have contracted the virus from family members living in the red zone. But we don’t know for sure how they got infected,” he said.

Without revealing a specific number, Sokha said many more officers still have to be tested. He urged all members of the Military Police to strictly respect the preventive health measures introduced by the Ministry of Health and to strictly adhere to military discipline.

In separate Covid-19 tests administered by the Ministry of Health on May 12, a total of 10 officers based in Phnom Penh’s Prek Pnov district were found to be Covid-19 positive.