PHNOM PENH: The Ministry of Health of Cambodia has decided to lift mandatory requirement for Omicron patients to be treated at the hospital and allow patients to be treated at home or at any location of their choosing. This decision was made after Prime Minister Hun Sen issued a special message on the night of Friday, 21 January, where he recommended modifying the treatment conditions of Omicron patients after assessing that the variant poses less risk than previously thought.
In a press release issued by the Ministry of Health, hours after Prime Minister Hun Sen released his special message, the Ministry of Health announced the decision to allow all Covid-19 patients with the Omicron variant to leave the hospital or Covid-19 treatment center if they wished to undergo their treatment at home.
The press release stated, "If a patient has a decent home, he/she can be treated separately from his/her family and must comply with the standard operating procedures for the management, care and treatment of Covid-19 patients at home, with the requirement of reporting the situation to local authorities.”
In addition to allowing patients to stay at home, the Ministry of Health has also decided to modify the procedures for treating patients entering Cambodia who have been positively diagnosed with Omicron. The new procedures state that all passengers who are positive for the Omicron variant can also choose to receive treatment without having to go to a hospital or Covid-19 treatment center. Foreigners are allowed to be treated at the embassy hotel or other residence of their choice, while Cambodians are allowed to stay at home.
The statement added: "As was the case with Covid-19 Alpha or Delta patients, adhering to standard operating procedures for the management, care and treatment of Covid-19 patients at home is mandatory. If there are health risk factors, patients may choose to seek treatment at a public or private Covid-19 hospital or clinic that is licensed to treat Covid-19."
On Friday, 21 January, Prime Minister Hun Sen sent a special message on his decision to allow foreign travelers who have tested positive for the Omicron variant to be treated at home, at a hotel or embassy, and to allow all Omicron patients who are being treated at public hospitals to go home to complete their treatment if they wished. This decision came after the Prime Minister identified that although the new Covid-19 variant spread faster, it was less dangerous compared to the previous Delta and Alpha variants.
Cambodia is one of the leading countries in the region and the world in the fight against Covid-19. The country has fully reopened since 1 November 2021, and to date, nearly 14 million Cambodians have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, equal to nearly 90 percent of the 16 million population.
