PHNOM PENH, Oct 22 (NNN-AKP) – Cambodia’s Ministry of Education, yesterday, gave the green light to primary schools and kindergartens, in areas where COVID-19 is controllable, to reopen after most of the targeted population have been inoculated against COVID-19, according to Khmer Times’s report today.
Education Minister, Hang Chuon Naron, said, fully vaccinated teachers and students are given priority to return to in-person classes, while teachers, who are older than 50, should continue teaching online.
He said, schools that have met the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) can reopen from Nov 1.
“The number of students in a classroom must be limited from 15 to 20, and social distancing must be maintained,” he said, adding that, selling snacks or food and playing sports at schools must be prohibited.
The minister said, the latest move came, after the country achieved high COVID-19 vaccination rates, and has seen a significant drop in new COVID-19 cases in recent months.
Secondary and high schools, as well as, universities, have been reopened since last month.
The kingdom launched a COVID-19 vaccination drive on Feb 10, with China being the main vaccine supplier.
As of Oct 20, Cambodia administered at least one dose of vaccines to 13.63 million people, aged six years and older, or 85.2 percent of its 16-million population, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said.
Of them, 12.85 million, or 80.3 percent, had been fully inoculated with both required shots, and 1.56 million, or 9.75 percent, had taken a third dose or booster dose, the MoH added.
Cambodia reported 151 new cases yesterday, pushing the national total caseload to 117,352, the MoH said, adding, 11 more fatalities had been recorded, bringing the death toll to 2,704.
Another 366 patients recovered, taking the total number of recoveries to 112,056, the MoH said.– NNN-AKP
