VIENTAINE (UCAN): The prime minister of Laos, Phankham Viphavanh, ordered a two-week lockdown in the capital, Vientiane, after a surge in confirmed Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) cases, believed to have begun during the Lao New Year holiday period in mid-April.
He said the order was effective from today and would last at least until May 5 with all international borders closed alongside provincial borders. Residents in the capital are prohibited from leaving their homes except for essential tasks.
Laos, like Cambodia, emerged relatively unscathed from the first year of the pandemic but that has since changed. The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Laos is now 88, with 49 recoveries and no deaths.
Observers, who declined to be named for fear of the government, said anecdotal evidence suggested that the numbers are much higher and that the one-party communist state had not done enough to protect the public against the disease.
“Basically, they have just sat and hoped it would go away. Now they are worried, the numbers are up and there’s little they can do about it,” one resident said.
Laos has vaccinated just 0.4 per cent of its population.
…a video that went viral online showing security guards on motorbikes caning peoples…
The prime minister said that gatherings must not exceed 20 people and that ceremonies such as funerals must be held with extreme care and in line with Covid-19 prevention measures.
The order was issued as neighbouring Cambodia entered a second week of lockdowns, with people in red zones, cutting across large swathes of Phnom Penh, confined to their homes.
Outside those zones people are allowed out three times a week to buy food and essentials. Markets have closed and, fearing a food shortage, vendors have been allowed to sell fresh produce from street corners a block apart from each other. Meat sellers are operating from the back of utility vehicles.
Cambodia has confirmed 7,747 coronavirus cases and 54 deaths, almost all since its third community outbreak of the UK variant of the disease, which was traced to two Chinese women who breached quarantine after bribing a hotel guard in Phnom Penh on February 20.
The response has been harsh amid rising discontent highlighted by a video that went viral online showing security guards on motorbikes caning people with bamboo sticks for not wearing masks, breaching health rules or breaking a nighttime curfew.
Cambodia’s interior minister, Sar Kheng, called on authorities to refrain from using violence when enforcing coronavirus restrictions.
“I am taking this opportunity to remind all relevant authorities to perform their tasks with patience, maintain discipline with a dignified attitude, adhere to the force’s code of ethics, and especially to avoid using any violence to resolve problems when implementing the government’s order,” he said.
Heavy fines and jail terms have been imposed for those who breach health rules, with local police confirming 127 people had been arrested in recent days.
Of the latest incidents, seven Vietnamese were arrested while attempting to illegally cross the border while four Cambodians have been jailed for one year for holding a karaoke party where they broke laws banning alcohol and social gatherings.
