Phnom Penh: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports has dashed any hopes of an immediate reopening of public and private schools in the capital. It says all educational institutions throughout Cambodia will remain closed for the “foreseeable future”.

The statement followed an online meeting with representatives of private schools on Wednesday. They’ve been pushing for schools to reopen, now that Phnom Penh is almost fully vaccinated.

Ministry of Education spokesman, Mr. Ros Sovacha released a statement after the meeting confirming that no reopening would be allowed just yet. He said schools must continue teaching online until further notice, but did add that the Royal Government was working on a proposal for the reopening of schools soon.

There are encouraging signs though that schools could well reopen from August. The Ministry of Health has already said that the capital’s adult population will be 100% vaccinated by the 8th of July. The capital’s Health Department director, Dr. Ngy Meng Heng has also been reported as saying that Phnom Penh’s daily Covid-19 case count is down dramatically.

Phnom Penh has not released its daily Covid figures for some time now, but the director says there are between 100 and 200 cases a day, sharply down on the 400 to 500 daily cases that were being reported back in March and April.

The country’s vaccine rollout also continues to gather pace. Another million doses of Sinovac, purchased from China, will arrive in Phnom Penh on Saturday, with a further million doses arriving on Monday.