A female tourist has become the first Vietnamese citizen to be infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) virus in Cambodia, following an announcement by the Cambodian Ministry of Health on April 7.

The statement issued by the Cambodian Ministry of Health notes that the 27-year-old patient originally entered Cambodia on March 10 and went on to be diagnosed with the coronavirus on April 6. She is currently receiving treatment at the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh.

Amid the neighbouring country enduring complicated developments relating to the COVID-19 epidemic, Vo Tuan Ngoc, Counselor of the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia, stated that the embassy will work closely with the Khmer-Vietnam Association and other relevant agencies to urge Vietnamese citizens to take preventative measures to protect themselves.

In addition, the embassy has been striving to regularly provide Vietnamese nationals with updated information on the pandemic, whilst also urging citizens to strictly abide by health recommendations set out by the Cambodian government. This includes advising them to avoid crowded places and halt all but essential travel.

At present, there has been 115 recorded cases of the COVID-19 in Cambodia, although so far no fatalities have been reported.