PM Hun Sen: Pchum Ben Festival, a Big Test between Disaster and Safety

Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen this morning said that allowing people to go out during the three-day Pchum Ben break is a big test between disaster and safety. In a special voice message, the Premier explained that after Pchum Ben holiday, if the COVID-19 infection rate is high, the plan to reopen the country in all domains will not be possible. But if the citizens protect themselves, then the situation is not critical, therefore the socio-economic activities, especially schools and domestic tourism, a key driver for economic growth, can be fully resumed.

“This is not a risky test, but it is neither 100 percent accurate,” he underlined, affirming that competent authorities are ready for possible bad situation for public health as there was an example in India where there was an outbreak with a lot of COVID-19 infections and deaths after a religious ceremony.

Earlier this year, Cambodia is expected to achieve an economic growth of 4.4 percent, but due to lockdowns and restrictions of socio-economic activities, the figure would drop to 2.2 percent. “If later this year, we can resume economic activities, particularly domestic tourism, our growth rate would be higher than 2.2 percent according to September forecast,” said the Prime Minister.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press