PHNOM PENH, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Wednesday that two more French tourists were tested positive for the COVID-19, bringing the total number of the confirmed cases in the country to 93.
The new patients are among a group of 36 French tourists who arrived in the coastal province of Preah Sihanouk on March 18 through a tour company and stayed in a hotel there, Hun Sen said during a meeting with a group of anti-COVID-19 volunteer doctors in Phnom Penh.
He said so far, 33 out of the 36 French tourists and two Cambodian tour guides had been tested positive for the virus and had been placed under quarantine for treatment at the hotel and the Preah Sihanouk provincial hospital.
"I'd like to announce that all foreign (COVID-19) patients in Cambodia will receive free of charge treatment," he said.
Hun Sen said the Southeast Asian country has prepared hotels, vocational training centers and school-dorms into standby facilities to treat people infected with the COVID-19.
"We have currently reserved more than 3,000 rooms to accommodate patients," he said.
Meanwhile, the prime minister said about 15,000 Cambodian migrant workers had returned home from Thailand on Sunday before Thailand closed its borders.
He urged them to self-isolate for 14 days at home and to contact a 115 hotline if they have any suspicious symptoms.
Hun Sen advised local authorities to use loudspeakers to broadcast health warnings and advice on preventing transmission to villagers across the country to raise awareness on COVID-19.
"I call on people not to leave home if unnecessary," he said.
The prime minister said although Europe, the United States and South Korea are being hit the worst by the COVID-19, Cambodia will not evacuate its students and citizens from those regions and countries.
