Phnom Penh a ghost town as Covid restrictions kick in. Phnom Penh, formerly a bastion in a world gone crazy over coronavirus has seen lockdown measures increased over the last week.
It was 7 days ago that the first community case of Covid-19 was reported . There have been attempts at track and trace since then, but largely the situation has continued to get worse. Officially at least there are still only 346 confirmed cases. Confirmed though being the operative word.
What has been closed?
Again this is where the ambiguity kicks in. Schools have been closed, and now it would appear that “bars” have also been closed. Although as is often the case it more means that bars have closed their doors rather than their business.
Restaurants though remain open, so if you are a bar that sells food, officially at least you are good to stay open for now.
On Saturday night Phnom Penh and the riverside bars were much less busy than usual, although people were still out partying, many not bothering to wear masks. There was though a heavy police presence and the bar seemed to be being taken more serious than previous bans. Ironically the closure of the girly bars meant a lot more ladies strolling along the river…..
The government have also announced that any violators of the law will be shut down . And this seems on the surface at least to be taken seriously.
No State of Emergency to be declared
Prime-Minister Hun Sen has declared that there will not be a state of emergency declared. Although this has been something mooted since as early as March of this year. Nor have face-masks been made mandatory. Sadly the majority of people you see without them tend to be foreigners.
What next for coronavirus Cambodia?
It should be remembered that as bad as things are, we are still doing better than most countries around the world. But with that being said the situation over the last 7 days has rapidly gotten worse.
For now Phnom Penh is a ghost town and once again we wait….