Phnom Penh (FN), Mar. 13 – Cambodia announced to temporarily close entries for all the sea and river cruises in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19, according to the letter dated 13 March issued by Department of Water Transportation addressed to cruise owners and agencies.

The decision came after three British among the 64 passengers and crews aboard Viking Cruise Journey were tested positive of Covid-19.

The Viking Cruise Journey arrived Cambodia from Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh on 7 March 2020.

As of 13 March 2020, the Kingdom has confirmed five cases of Covid-19, including:

1. a 60-year-old Chinese man tested positive on 27 January when he flew from Wuhan to Sihanoukville. However, he recovered and returned home.

2. a 38-year-old Cambodian man in Siem Reap on 7 March, believed to be transmitted from the Japanese businessman. He is being hospitalised in Siem Reap hospital.

3. a 65-year-old British woman, a passenger on Viking Cruise Journey, was tested positive on 10 March 2020 in Kompong Cham province. The woman was infected with the virus from a Vietnamese woman who flew by plane together from London to Hanoi on 2 March. On 5 March, the 65-year-old flew from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh before taking the cruise from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh and then to Kompong Cham.

4. a 73-year-old British man on Viking Cruise Journey tested positive on 11 March in Kompong Cham.

5. a 69-year old British woman on Viking Cruise Journey tested positive on 11 March in Kompong Cham.
=FRESH NEWS