(Photo: AP)
Bangkok (People’s Daily) – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has reportedly expressed his intention to host a reception for the quarantined passengers on the Westerdam cruise liner who have got off the ship but been stuck in Cambodia.
According to the Khmer Times, the reception is to show Cambodia’s true love, warm hospitality and humanitarian heart. Relevant foreign diplomats accredited to Cambodia will also be invited to the reception.
Hun Sen shared his intention while presiding over the annual meeting of the Cambodian national council for women on Monday.
On Tuesday, a post on Hun Sen’s Facebook page said that after thorough health checking of all passengers, the royal government of Cambodia has permitted some 500 passengers to stay temporarily at Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel awaiting their flights home.
Also, the Cambodian leader suggested municipal authorities cooperate with the Ministry of Health and other relevant institutions to prepare transportation for the now-stranded passengers for sightseeing in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. “To tour the city is better than staying in rooms or at the hotel feeling bored or scared,” the post added.
Hun Sen also offered that Cambodia will look after any passengers whose governments aren’t prepared to bring them to their respective homeland until they’re fully cleared.
On Saturday, an 83-year old American woman, one of the ship’s passengers, was diagnosed with coronavirus in Malaysia. The Malaysian government then issued a statement saying that all Westerdam cruise ship passengers still remaining in Cambodia will not be allowed entry into Malaysia because of their “close contacts with a confirmed (coronavirus) case.”
However, according to The Straits Times, Prime Minister Hun Sen remained defiant on Tuesday. "Some people say it brings the virus to Cambodia, but Cambodia has not had the disease (among its people)," he said in a speech.
A statement posted online on Monday by Holland America Line, operator of the Westerdam cruise ship, said that Cambodian Health officials have begun testing the 255 guests and 747 crew still on the ship. The cruise line said it expects that it will be several days before the remaining passengers are allowed to leave the vessel.
“At this time, no other guests or crew on board or at the hotel have reported any symptoms of the illness,” Holland America Line said.
After being stuck at sea for days, when Japan, the Philippines and Thailand turned it away over concerns it had passengers who could have been infected with COVID-19, Cambodia finally allowed the Westerdam to dock Friday at Sihanoukville, the south-west port city of Cambodia.