Cambodia Provides Cash Assistance To Pandemic-hit Families For Another 3 Months

PHNOM PENH, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Oct, 2021 ) :The Cambodian government will continue providing cash assistance to about 700,000 families hit by COVID-19 for another three months from October to December, according to a decision released on Wednesday.

Signed by Economy and Finance Minister Aun Pornmoniroth, the decision said it was the seventh round that the cash relief program was announced for the poor and vulnerable families during the pandemic.

Through the program, poor families in capital Phnom Penh and provincial towns receive a cash handout of 30 U.S. Dollars a month, while poor families in the countryside get 20 dollars in assistance.

Each poor family member also receives between four dollars and 13 dollars depending on their areas.

Children under five, disabled people, citizens with HIV or citizens 60-years-of-age or older receive between four dollars and 10 dollars, also depending on their areas.

The Southeast Asian nation has seen a remarkable decline in the number of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks after over 85 percent of its population have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose.

The country reported 166 new COVID-19 cases and 12 new deaths on Wednesday, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said, adding that compared to two weeks ago when it celebrated the Pchum Ben festival, or honoring-the-dead festival, this represented a 25-percent decrease in cases, while deaths remained similar.

To date, the kingdom had recorded a total of 117,201 COVID-19 cases, with 2,693 deaths and 111,690 recoveries, the MoH said.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Tuesday that COVID-19 vaccinations had helped reduce infections, hospitalizations and fatalities, adding that most of the deceased COVID-19 patients had not been vaccinated.

"We can say that vaccines are the solid fortress for protecting our people's lives, reducing infections and preventing severe illness and death," he said in an audio message.

With high vaccination rates and low infections and deaths, Cambodia is expected to fully reopen in the near future, he added.

The country launched a COVID-19 vaccination drive on Feb. 10, with China being the main vaccine supplier.

As of Tuesday, the kingdom had administered at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccines to 13.62 million people, or 85.14 percent of its 16-million population, the MoH said.

Of them, almost 12.8 million, or 80 percent, had been fully inoculated with both required shots, and 1.51 million, or 9.5 percent, had taken a third dose or booster dose, it added.