Southeast Asian countries take actions against COVID-19
Hanoi (VNA) – Countries in Southeast Asia are
taking drastic actions in response to the COVID-19 outbreak as they have confirmed
more infected cases over the last few days.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered all schools in Siem Reap city to be shut down temporarily after
the country confirmed the first Cambodian to be infected with SARS-CoV-2, the
virus that causes COVID-19, on March 7.
The patient, a 38-year-old man
living in northwest Siem Reap province, was tested positive for the virus by
the Pasteur Institute of Cambodia.
He was among the first four
persons who had direct contact with a COVID-19-infected Japanese man who travelled
to Siem Reap province on February 28 and was tested positive for the virus by
the Japanese health authorities on March 4 when he returned to Japan.
Meanwhile, the three others
were negative for COVID-19, according to the Cambodian Health Ministry.
The Siem Reap patient was the
second confirmed case of COVID-19 in Cambodia. The first is a 60-year-old
Chinese man from China’s Wuhan city. He was tested positive for the virus on
January 27, and discharged from hospital on February 10 after completely
recovering from the disease.
So far, health authorities of Siem Reap province have found a
total of eight persons having direct contact with the Japanese COVID-19 patient,
and they were put in quarantine. The 40 others having indirect contact with him
have been instructed to self-isolate at home, and their health are being
closely monitored, the Health Ministry said.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Thailand has put more 500 THB
banknotes into circulation to raise the percentage of cash that’s free of SARS-CoV-2
contamination.
Somboon Chitphentom,
assistant governor of the central bank’s banknote management group, said that the
notes have never been in circulation before and are hygienic.
Besides, the bank is also collecting and quarantining banknotes for 14
days, the incubation period for the virus, after which they’ll go back into
circulation.
As the number of customers visiting shopping malls has been declining due to the COVID-19, the Emquartier and Emporium malls in Bangkok have installed tunnels with sanitiser sprinklers to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus before customers enter the building.
They are the first EM Auto Sanitising Gates in Thailand, which can reduce chances of the virus spreading by 90 percent.
Thailand has recorded 50
COVID-19 cases, including 18 currently under treatment. Aside from one death,
31 other patients have been discharged from hospital. The two new cases
announced on March 7 are Thai citizens returning from Italy, the epicenter of
the outbreak in Europe.
In another development, Malaysia
and Thailand have barred the Costa Fortuna, a cruise ship carrying about 2,000
people, including dozens of Italians, from docking due to fears about COVID-19.
The ship was first turned away from Phuket island of Thailand
on March 6 despite there being no suspected virus cases aboard, according to
its operator.
Thai authorities had imposed
restrictions "on Italians that have transited in Italy in the last 14
days", Costa Cruises said on Twitter.
The ship is carrying 64 Italians, according to Malaysian
officials.
On March 7, the vessel tried
to dock in the northern Malaysian state of Penang but was also refused entry. The decision was taken as Malaysia had decided to restrict entry of all cruise
ships to the country's ports.
After being denied entry by Malaysia, the ship was heading to
neighbouring Singapore, a Malaysian politician said./.