Cambodia reopens schools after coronavirus shutdown in March

Schools throughout Cambodia have reopened for the first time since March but with class sizes and hours limited by coronavirus precautions

Virus Outbreak Cambodia (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Schools throughout Cambodia reopened Monday for the first time since March but with class sizes and hours limited by coronavirus precautions.

Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron said a second closing would be considered if any students became infected while attending classes. He said students and teachers would have to learn to work with vigilance and safety measures because COVID-19 was still raging in Europe and the United States and no vaccine for it has yet been developed.

A trial phase of reopenings for some schools in the capital Phnom Penh and parts of eastern Cambodia started last month, and Hang Chuon Naron said the good results prompted the approval for reopenings nationwide.

“As the government has controlled the COVID situation very well, we have seen that in Cambodia the number of cases has not increased, and especially the border control is every effective,” he told reporters at a school in Phnom Penh.

In addition to the limits on class sizes and hours, school buses, libraries, physical education and art activities and canteens will resume under the Health Ministry's rules covering coronavirus safety.

“So, we have two objectives -- number one is safety for our students, our teachers, as well as the community, and number two is to continue education for everyone,” he said.

Cambodia has reported 292 cases of coronavirus infection, with no deaths. The Health Ministry on Monday reported one new case, a Cambodian returning from abroad.