PHNOM PENH, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Monday that eight more people tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of infected people in the first-ever community transmission to 14.
The first community transmission was detected on Saturday after a local family of six people, who reside in both capital Phnom Penh and northwest Siem Reap province, tested positive for the virus, as the origin of their infection was still unknown.
Speaking during a groundbreaking ceremony for roads in northwest Siem Reap province, Hun Sen called on people who came into contact with the patients to have their samples tested for the virus.
"So far, 2,248 samples had been tested, and 14 of them were positive for the COVID-19," he said, adding that sample collection and mass testing were still underway at designated locations.
Hun Sen said all people who had contact with the patients must go into a 14-day self-quarantine at home or at designated quarantine centers.
He added that he had authorized ministers, heads of institutions and municipal and provincial governors to close any locations that infected people had visited.
"This will be a disaster for Cambodia if we do not contain it timely," Hun Sen said.
On Sunday, Cambodia shut down schools across the kingdom for two weeks as well as a shopping mall and a hotel in the capital in a bid to curb the virus.
Since January to date, the Southeast Asian country has recorded a total of 323 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the Ministry of Health said, adding that none have died and 301 have recovered. Enditem
