Cambodia on Wednesday required foreign diplomats and international organization officials, who intend to travel to the country, to provide a "COVID-19-free" health certificate prior to their departure, according to the Ministry of Health.
The health certificate must be issued by competent health authorities of his/her country no more than 72 hours prior to the date of travel, certifying that he/she did not test positive for the COVID-19, the statement said.
"All diplomats and international organization officials, holding diplomatic visa (Visa A) or official visa (Visa B) of Cambodia, will be required to test (for the COVID-19) when they arrive in Cambodia, and their samples will be taken at a special venue at the arrival terminal," Health Minister Mam Bunheng said in a statement.
He said they have to wait for their testing results for at least 24 hours at a hotel or accommodation with standard operating procedures (SOPs), and if required by public health measures, they will be quarantined for 14 days at that location.
If someone tests positive for the virus by the Pasteur Institute of Cambodia, he/she will be admitted to the Royal Phnom Penh Hospital or an embassy-proposed hospital, Bunheng said, adding that diplomats or their embassies and international organizations must be responsible for all expenses, including medical cost.
The minister said that due to the number of diplomatic and official visa holders is not too many, the government has decided to provide them free-of-charge COVID-19 testing for the first time upon their arrival and for the second time on the 13th day of their quarantine.
According to the statement, all foreign mission residences will be required to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Health concerning SOPs in order to curb the COVID-19 spread in Cambodia.
The move came after four U.S. embassy officials in Cambodia had tested positive for the virus after they recently travelled to the kingdom from the United States. According to the Ministry of Health, three of them have recovered so far.
The Southeast Asian nation has recorded a total of 243 confirmed COVID-19 cases to date, with 202 patients cured and 41 remained in hospital.