Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh summoned a meeting on Sunday [May 9] with heads of six provinces bordering Cambodia to warn of imported transmission of coronavirus from the neighboring country.
| Vietnam PM Pham Minh Chinh (1st right) with the map on Covid-19 checkpoints in An Giang province. Photos: Nhat Bac/VGP |
The meeting was attended by the PM who chaired the event in An Giang which borders Cambodia, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, and Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long, and chairpersons of six Southwestern provinces of An Giang, Binh Phuoc, Dong Thap, Kien Giang, Long An, and Tay Ninh.
Chinh asked local leaders to tighten control over illegal immigration and call local residents’ support in finding illegal immigrants.
He said the provinces need to put in the highest alert against the pandemic, being ready for the coronavirus outbreak scenario.
| PM Chinh at a border marker along the Vietnam-Cambodia border. |
Accordingly, they have to stockpile medical equipment, improve testing capacity, and build quarantine facilities.
To tighten control over the border areas, Kien Giang’s Border Guards have cooperated with Cambodia peers to conduct joint patrols along the border line while they have disseminated precautionary measures in both Vietnamese and Khmer languages for people of both countries.
Six Vietnam’s Southwestern provinces share more than 600 km of border line with Cambodia, requiring them to increase the Covid-19 checkpoints to thousands after the pandemic has resurged in Cambodia since February 20, 2021. Border Guards carry out all day long patrols.
| PM with border guards in An Giang. |
On May 6, Cambodia removed lockdown in Phnom Penh after three weeks. The lockdown had triggered anger from some residents who called the distribution of food aid inadequate, according to Reuters.
Upon the restriction removal, health experts have warned about lifting curbs too quickly amid surging infections.
The World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Cambodia, Li Ailan, warned against easing curbs too soon.
As of May 9, Cambodia has recorded 19,237 infections, with 520 additional cases confirmed on Sunday, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
