A view of a closed market, during a 14-day citywide closure, implemented due to a growing number of cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on April 17 of 2021. REUTERS / Cindy Liu / Photo File
Cambodia began setting up thousands of hospital beds in two wedding party halls on Sunday to deal with the influx of COVID-19 patients into a country that until recently had managed to contain infections.
Cambodia also reported 618 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, according to its health ministry, in an increase in infections following an outbreak first detected in late February.
The new numbers reached the overall total of 6,389. Until recently, Cambodia had one of the lowest infections in the world. It has reported 43 deaths, all in the last two months.
“The Ministry of Health has decided to use the Sen Sok Premiere Center to prepare for the Covid-19 treatment center which can accommodate more than 1,500 Covid-19 patients,” Cambodia’s national television, TVK, said on Sunday. a healthcare manager.
Or Vandine, secretary of state and health ministry spokeswoman, said she was busy at a meeting and had no immediate comment on a Reuters consultation. Health Minister Mam Bunheng could not be reached for comment.
Local media footage showed Mam Bunheng visiting one of Vimean Piphob Thmey Sensok’s wedding venues while police installed hospital beds. A Reuters photographer was denied entry and told to return next week.
Earlier this week, the government also turned another Koh Pich Convention & Exhibition Center into a field hospital housing about 1,800 beds.
Phnom Penh and a satellite district of the capital closed on Thursday in an attempt to curb the spread of infections.
Under lockdown, most people are prohibited from leaving home for two weeks, except to go to work, buy food, or receive medical treatment.
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