PHNOM PENH (UCAN): The Health Ministry of Cambodia is concerned about six Chinese nationals who tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) but are now unaccounted for after the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh disputed the test results, medical sources said.
After the initial tests were conducted around July 25 following their arrival in Phnom Penh, a Chinese embassy official urged the ministry not to include the results in its daily reports which are made public through government-backed news outlets.
Sources said the six were then retested and all the results turned out negative, which one medical practitioner described as “a result that would be almost impossible to obtain.”
They were then released from quarantine but their whereabouts are unknown.
“Unlike all other known positive cases, the results for these Chinese were never reported publicly by the Health Ministry or in the local press,” one source said.
He explained that nearly all Chinese nationals are tested separately from all other travelers on arrival in Phnom Penh. Their samples are then sent to the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH), a government-run laboratory, for testing rather than the independent, French-run Institute Pasteur, which tests all other Covid-19 samples.
“The six Chinese nationals also avoided other established protocols,” another source said, adding, “They were tested and then retested by technicians from the same government-run lab, the NIPH. The NIPH subsequently sent Institute Pasteur its test results for verification but refused to provide any additional details.”
Travellers are required to deposit US$2,000 ($15,500) on arrival to cover any potential costs. They are also required to present a medical certificate written within 72 hours of arrival stating they are Covid-19 free and have medical insurance worth US$50,000 ($387,600) that covers the coronavirus.
“Chinese nationals almost always quarantine in Chinese-only hotels. Sometimes—with the help of local partners—Chinese travellers are exempted from paying the required $2,000 deposit to cover medical and quarantine expenses and having $50,000 in health insurance,” the source explained.
All arrivals must self-quarantine for 14 days. If one passenger tests positive on arrival, then all passengers must spend their next two weeks under a government-controlled quarantine.
“Chinese nationals almost always quarantine in Chinese-only hotels. Sometimes—with the help of local partners—Chinese travellers are exempted from paying the required $2,000 deposit to cover medical and quarantine expenses and having $50,000 in health insurance,” the source explained.
Cambodia has confirmed only 273 Covid-19 cases. Almost all arrived from overseas on flights or a cruise ship. None have died and 229 have recovered.
Phnom Penh has been applauded for its handling of the crisis. Land borders with Vietnam, Laos and Thailand remain closed and flights from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have been suspended following a spike in cases among arrivals.
Other observers have questioned the role of the in-country leadership of the World Health Organisation (WHO), headed by a Chinese physician, Li Ailan, who is in a position to be generally aware of all cases that test positive in Cambodia.
Li arrived in Cambodia in July 2019 and is a former programme officer with the Chinese Health Ministry. She apparently maintains close relations with the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh and often defends Cambodia’s response to the global pandemic.
China is by far the biggest investor in Cambodia.
