Phnom Penh: The kingdom has entered the second week of its 14-day anti-Delta campaign. It was last Friday that the nationwide curfew, ban on alcohol sales and suspension of high-risk businesses came into effect, in an attempt to curb the spread of the highly-contagious Delta variant of Covid-19. A ban on table-service is also in effect in every province except Phnom Penh, where the ban was lifted earlier this week.

As the country begins the second week of the campaign, it would seem it is working. The pressure on healthcare workers is starting to ease. The number of new daily cases, daily deaths and active cases have all been steadily dropping over the past seven days.

But more effort, not to mention more responsibility, is going to be needed if Cambodia is to put a final end to the community outbreak, most especially with the Delta variant slowly spreading. The Health Ministry has confirmed around 300 cases in the past week, and more are being detected every day. Red zones have been declared in Siem Reap and Banteay Meanchey, and several streets and other locations have been sealed off in Phnom Penh.

Sen Sok’s Teuk Thla market was briefly closed on Thursday as rapid tests were conducted on vendors and surrounding residents. 500 people in all were tested – 8 of them confirmed positive on Friday morning. The day before, the Phnom Penh Capital Administration closed Toul Sangke Market, as well as a section of Street 113 in 7 Makara for 14 days.

Despite the scares, arrests and vehicle confiscations continue for curfew violations, especially in the capital. Since the curfew began, over 2 750 people have been arrested and 1,280 vehicles have been impounded. It’s these numbers which are going to need to drop as well, if the second week of the campaign is going to achieve its goal.