Cambodia eases ban on sports activities

Hanoi (VNA) – The Cambodian Government on May 26 decided to relax the ban on sports activities after the COVID-19 situation in the country had shown improvement.

Cambodian Minister of Education, Youth and Sports Hang Chuon Naron said in a statement that sports activities are now allowed to resume, but without spectators.

Besides, officials and athletes have to strictly comply with health recommendations such as there must not be more than 100 people each game, and athletes must not hug or shake hands with one another after scoring a goal. Sports facilities and equipment must also be disinfected before training sessions or competitions.

Cambodia imposed a ban on sports activities in mid-March following a surge of COVID-19 infections. The situation there has improved as only two of the 124 confirmed patients are still under treatment.

Meanwhile, Cambodian businesses are continuing to call on the government to further support the local economy during and after the pandemic, through the implementation of collateral-free working loans and new policies to encourage more foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country.

The calls come after the Cambodian Government announced a plan last week to reduce electricity tariffs for firms in the manufacturing, agriculture, commercial and service sectors from June until October. Companies in these sectors will only be required to pay for the electricity they consume and are expected to save approximately 25 percent off their power bill.

In the Philippines, police in Manila on May 26 did a dry run of measures to enforce social distancing on public transport and control the spread of coronavirus. The exercise aimed to manage hundreds of thousands of people once public transportation eventually resumes after having been closed for nearly 11 weeks.

Spokesman of the light rail transit system Hernando Cabrera said social distancing meant each train will carry only 10 percent of its maximum passenger load, about 160 passengers allowed, making it difficult to managing the flow of people at stations.

Manila capital has practiced social distancing since March 16 to curb the spread of COVID-19. Its administration decided to ease some restrictions on May 16 and is expected to convene a meeting on Mary 27 to decide whether or not those measures should be further relaxed.

Meanwhile, Myanmar's Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population announced on May 26 that it has provided social security benefits to a total of 26,305 workers of factories, workshops and workplaces affected by the restrictions against COVID-19.

As part of a move to contain the spread of COVID-19, all local factories had to close from April 20 to May 15 for mandatory inspections by the ministries concerned.

Myanmar authorities offered employment to over 9,300 local people in regions and states in April, down from over 24,000 in March due to the outbreak, the ministry's figures showed./.