PHNOM PENH, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Tuesday that the country's first community outbreak of COVID-19 has been brought under control, but it is still too early to declare that it is over.
The first community outbreak was detected on Nov. 28 after six people in a family, who reside in both capital Phnom Penh and northwest Siem Reap province, tested positive for the virus, as the origin of their infection has not been identified yet.
Hun Sen said so far, nearly 19,000 people linked to the Nov. 28 event had been tested, and 41 of them had been positive for the virus.
"The possibility to announce the end of the Nov. 28 event will not be made before Jan. 11, 2021 (the date for high school graduation exam), but at least on Jan. 20, 2021," he said in a speech live broadcast on the National Television of Cambodia (TVK).
Hun Sen advised the education ministry to cancel the upcoming high school graduation exam and to determine whether a student passes or fails based on the results of his/her semester exams.
Meanwhile, the prime minister announced that the government will continue to provide a cash relief to about 700,000 poor and vulnerable families for another three months from January to March, 2021.
The Southeast Asian nation has so far recorded a total of 362 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with zero deaths and 312 recoveries, the Ministry of Health said in a statement. Enditem
