Despite a sharp decrease in Cambodia’s Covid-19 cases, the Ministry of Health and World Health Organisation (WHO) in Cambodia have called on the public to maintain caution and adhere to protective measures to avert a “disaster”.

“While we are celebrating the arrival of 2022, I ask that our people not to be negligent – that is a very important point. Our negligence can lead to a public health disaster, and what we went through last year and experienced was a lesson for all of us,” said health ministry spokeswoman Or Vandine.

Vandine said nobody would want to go through the difficulties faced in 2021 again and the only way to avoid that was for everyone to protect themselves from getting infected by Covid-19 and its several variants.

“Please do not forget that Covid-19 has yet to go anywhere – it still lives with us. So, we have to take extra precautions in 2022 and, especially, I ask everyone to change their attitudes and habits along with their way of life because we have to adapt their lives to the ‘new normal’ in order to maintain good health,” she said.

WHO representative to Cambodia Li Ailan echoed the call, hoping that 2022 would change from the “new normal” to a “new future”, and that she is looking forward to seeing Cambodia succeed in 2022.

“In 2020, there were zero Covid-19 deaths. In 2021, Covid-19 vaccines saved the lives of a great many people in Cambodia and kept deaths to a minimum. I hope that this points the way to a new future. We cannot predict what will happen in 2022 in advance because there is a lot of uncertainty,” she said.

Li added that with the current pandemic, people should prepare for two possible scenarios. The first would be for Covid-19 to become endemic and a danger that everyone must live with long-term with vaccinations, booster shots and ongoing health protection measures.

“The second scenario is actually more worrisome and I hope that it won’t happen. The second scenario is that a new global pandemic begins while the current pandemic continues because the virus continues to mutate and current vaccines and treatments no longer work against it or we encounter the spread of some other entirely novel virus.

“We have to continue the current personal protection measures. This is a new future that we have to learn to live with in order to make our lives free from regrets,” she said.

Li also noted that the Covid-19 vaccination campaign in Cambodia last year was a highlight due its overwhelming success.

“To me it's a miracle. I do not know how to describe it, but it's amazing. Many people think it's unbelievable or ‘mission impossible’, but Cambodia has managed to [vaccinate its population] successfully,” she said.

She suggested that Cambodia tell the world about the success of its vaccinations campaign in order to make other developing countries aware of the strategies the Kingdom employed so they can make use of them and to make the international community aware of Cambodia’s achievement as it reflects well on the nation and its government, encouraging possible investments, tourism and other benefits.

“I have always thought that we should write down the details in a textbook for future medical students. These were valuable experiences and lessons for all of us that can help us to prepare for future pandemics and other countries would benefit from knowing Cambodia’s vaccination strategy should another pandemic occur,” she said.

On that subject, Vandine said she is writing a book that she hopes will be completed in the near future. The book, written in Khmer, is tentatively titled How Mission Impossible Became Mission Accomplished.

She added that the book will highlight all of the hard work and selfless efforts undertaken for the Cambodian people during the pandemic on behalf of the prime minister, whose “heart full of generosity and love for the people of Cambodia” helped to instill those values into the Kingdom’s brave healthcare workers and the entire population.