Cambodia bans home treatment for Omicron to curb outbreak

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday issued a directive prohibiting home treatment for those who are infected with the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

This is to prevent the variant from spreading into the community which is happening worldwide.

Neighboring Thailand has reported over 2,000 cases of Omicron infections across 54 provinces.

“Although the Omicron variant’s infection is mild, we cannot let patients undergo home treatment as this variant spreads fast and could cause a community outbreak which requires us to be locked down again,” Mr Hun Sen said.

He said Delta and Alpha patients are still allowed to undergo home treatment if the infection is mild.

He also said 98 cases of Omicron have been recorded in the Kingdom as of Tuesday.

“The Omicron cases are imported ones, through air travelers, and we need to keep the spread under control,” he said.

He said that migrant workers returning from Thailand risk bringing in Omicron and must be screened thoroughly to prevent them from causing another outbreak.

Banteay Meanchey Provincial Administration spokesman Sek Sokhom said yesterday that to keep the Covid-19 virus and its variants under control, all migrant workers entering the province must undergo quarantine whether fully vaccinated or unvaccinated.

“There are three border crossings used for migrant workers returning from Thailand and almost 600 migrant workers are undergoing quarantine as of yesterday,” he said.

He noted that the province requires fully vaccinated returnee migrants to be quarantined for seven days and unvaccinated or partially vaccinated ones for 14 days.

Sokhom said that so far authorities have not detected any returnee who has been infected with Omicron.

“Currently there are more than one hundred returnees per day. They are coming back due to the spread of Omicron in Thailand and want to get vaccinated or booster shots in their home country,” he added.

Sokhom pointed out that about four or five returnees out of 100 are found positive with Covid-19 after rapid tests at the border crossings daily.

In contrast, Oddar Meanchey and Battambang provinces aren’t quarantining fully vaccinated migrant workers who test negative upon entry.

AGENCIES