PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered the Minister of Economy and the Minister of Health to transfer the Covid-19 patients who are being treated at the Olympic Stadium to Luong Me Hospital or Chak Angre Hospital, so that the stadium can begin to undergo repairs for the 2023 Southeast Asian Games, which Cambodia will host.
The Prime Minister gave the order to transfer Covid-19 patients from the stadium to hospitals during a meeting with the Cambodian sports delegation participating in the 31st SEA Games on Thursday morning at the Koh Pich Theater in Phnom Penh.
The Prime Minister said, "The patients can be transferred from the Olympic Stadium to Luong Me Hospital or Chak Angre hospital. At Chak Angre there are no more patients right? So, we can discuss this matter again later, whether to send [patients] to Luong Me Hospital or Chak Angre Hospital, in order for the stadium to be handed off for repairs and renovation, because we only have one year left before the SEA Games, and we will use this [stadium] to do more training. Currently our [Covid-19] patients are declining."
According to Prime Minister Hun Sen, there are currently more than 90 Covid-19 patients being treated in Cambodia, including 26 in Phnom Penh.
On 25 April 2021, following the 20 February community outbreak event which caused many citizens Phnom Penh to get infected with Covid-19, the Phnom Penh Municipal Administration decided to allocate the National Olympic Stadium, National Polytechnic Institute and Premier Sen Sok Building as Covid-19 treatment centers.
However, after the community event was officially closed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on 20 December 2021, the National Polytechnic Institute and the Premier Sen Sok Building were reinstated for their original purposes by the Capital Administration, leaving only the National Olympic Stadium assigned as a Covid-19 treatment center.
According to the Governor of Phnom Penh Governor, Khuong Sreng, the Covid-19 Treatment Center in Phnom Penh may be completed by early 2023.
Cambodia will host the 32nd Southeast Asian Games from 5-16 May 2023. Cambodia still needs to prepare more venues, such as the Olympic stadium, for athletes to train, and to hold the main sporting events come next year.
