PHNOM PENH: Cambodia’s Education Ministry has ordered all state schools to close until the start of the next school year in January after a rare local outbreak of the coronavirus. Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron issued a statement late Sunday saying that all schools will be shut to prevent students from being infected.
He said that public schools will remain closed until until January 11, the start of the next school year, while private schools must close for two weeks. Students in private schools will be permitted to study online. Cambodian officials said over the weekend that a family of six and another man tested positive for the coronavirus.
Eight more cases were reported Monday among residents of Phnom Penh who were in contact with the family. Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed concern that the woman believed to be the source had traveled extensively in the country.
The woman’s husband works at the Interior Ministry in charge of prisons, and three Cabinet ministers are undergoing self-quarantine. About 3,300 people in seven provinces who were found to have had contact with the family are having themselves tested, according to the statement.
Also on Monday, the Culture and Fine Arts Ministry announced the closure of all theaters and museums and the prohibition of public concerts for the next two weeks. Cambodia has reported only 323 cases of the virus since the pandemic began, most of them acquired abroad, with no confirmed deaths.
