Phnom Penh City Hall has introduced a raft of new COVID-19 restrictions across the city following a resurgence in case numbers since previous restrictions were eased.
Cambodia reported 729 new cases on Wednesday and 750 Thursday, the majority being in and around the capital city, just two weeks after seeing the seven-day average fall to 365.
The new restrictions ban gatherings of more than 15 people and require the suspension of all “high risk” business activities, including casinos, KTVs, nightclubs, resorts, museums, massage parlors, cinemas and more.
In place until at least 16 June, they theoretically impact Phnom Penh’s only integrated resort, NagaWorld, although the property has already been closed since 1 March after a mass testing of 3,000 employees found 11 positive cases.
Cambodia’s virus outbreak stems from an incident on 20 February 2021 when four Chinese nationals bribed their way out of a quarantine hotel and visited a series of nightclubs. Two of those Chinese nationals later tested positive for COVID-19, setting in motion Cambodia’s first major outbreak.