Students wearing masks practice social distancing in class at a primary school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Nov. 1, 2021. (Photo by Phearum/Xinhua)
So far, schools at all levels across Cambodia have been reopened after 13.7 million people, or 85.68 percent of the country's 16-million population, have been inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines.
PHNOM PENH, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Dressed neatly in a Cambodia's public school uniform, white shirt and blue skirt, Chhin Putheara Vatey, a sixth-grade student at a primary school here, said that she was delighted to return to school after an eight-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Like other students, Vatey has been fully vaccinated with China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine before going back to school and she is pretty confident in the efficacy of the vaccine in protecting her from the disease.
"I have already taken two doses of China's Sinovac vaccine, and I'm really happy to return to school after a closure for eight months due to the COVID-19," the 12-year-old girl at the Wat Tuol Tompoung Primary School in Phnom Penh told Xinhua on Monday.
Students walk into a primary school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Nov. 1, 2021. (Photo by Phearum/Xinhua)
"The (online) learning atmosphere was not the same as learning at school, where we could meet teachers and other classmates in person," she said. "Moreover, the Internet is very laggy and when it freezes, we miss out on chunks of conversation."
At the Wat Tuol Tompoung Primary School, students had properly worn facemasks while entering the school and had their body temperatures checked and hands sanitized at the entrance.
"Both teachers and students have been fully vaccinated before returning to school, and we have strictly abided by standard operating procedures and other health safety measures," Luk Samnang, a teacher of Grade 6 students at the Wat Tuol Tompoung Primary School, told Xinhua.
Students queue for temperature check and hand sanitization at a primary school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Nov. 1, 2021. (Photo by Phearum/Xinhua)
"The number of students in each class is limited to not more than 15, and they must sit at least 1.5 meters away from each other in order to keep social distancing," she said.
Primary schools and kindergartens are the latest general education institutions that have been reopened after secondary and high schools, as well as universities, have been reopened since mid-September.
Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said at a press conference on Monday that so far, schools at all levels across the kingdom have been reopened after 13.7 million people, or 85.68 percent of the country's 16-million population, have been inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines.
A student has his body temperature checked at a primary school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Nov. 1, 2021. (Photo by Phearum/Xinhua)
Cambodia on Monday began to vaccinate five-year-old children with China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine as vaccinations for those aged six years and older were complete.
"We are recovering from the COVID-19 crisis, and social and economic activities in all areas have been gradually reopened, with the adaptation to the new normal," he said.
The Southeast Asian nation confirmed 91 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, raising the national total caseload to 118,613, the Ministry of Health said, adding that six new fatalities were reported, taking the overall death toll to 2,794. ■
