Cambodia has reopened its borders to fully vaccinated travellers, two weeks earlier than originally planned, bolstered by one of the world's highest rates of immunisation against COVID-19.
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The program allows visitors to skip quarantine measures if they are fully vaccinated, test negative 72 hours before they enter the country and test negative upon their arrival.
Prime Minister Hun Sen decided to move up the opening to Monday from November 30, to start revitalising the country's economic and social activity as soon as possible, buoyed by the fact that 88 per cent of Cambodians are now fully vaccinated.
"The situation has changed," Hun Sen said in an audio message shared on social media.
The previous plan had been to phase in the reopening by restricting travellers to two seaside provinces, but the new scheme means fully vaccinated travellers will be free to visit anywhere in the country after a negative test, the ministry said.
Unvaccinated travellers will still have to undergo a strict 14-day quarantine upon arrival and undergo a series of coronavirus tests before they can travel further.
In 2019 before the pandemic, Cambodia received 6.6 million foreigners who accounted for nearly $5 billion in revenue. Most of them visited the famous Angkor temples in Siem Reap province and seaside destinations, according to the Tourism Ministry.
In 2020, the number of visitors dropped to 1.3 million and earnings from them plunged to about $1 billion.
Cambodia's vaccination drive started slowly but has ramped up rapidly. Children from age 5 and up have been included in the program since the beginning of November.
Restrictions on domestic tourism, schools and other sectors were also lifted at the start of the month.
The Health Ministry reported 52 new COVID-19 cases on Monday and five deaths, bringing Cambodia's total to 119,588 cases and 2,872 fatalities since the start of the pandemic.
Australian Associated Press
