Lockdown Day 10

From the Khmer Times

The Cambodian government is having a difficult time dealing with the coronavirus. Last night, without any warning, they closed all the markets where the ordinary people buy their food. Families typically go to the market every day to get fresh meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables. It’s just part of the culture and they don’t have refrigerators. It’s going to be difficult for them.

Lockdown Day #6

Recently–as I foresee that the current lockdown in Phnom Penh is going to be extended beyond the initial two weeks–I started wondering about food for the future because it has become increasingly difficult to be out for anything. I asked Maria (L) if she and Kila had any experience ordering groceries online and she told me what she had done. And then today they surprised me with a food supply! I didn’t think they would be able to get out on the streets but they managed to get all the way to the Maryknoll office, where I am now living alone, and fortified me with enough basics for the next couple weeks. Thanks, Maria and Kila!

Lockdown Day 5

Last Thursday the government imposed a lockdown on Phnom Penh to control the spread of Covid-19. We won’t know for a while whether it is effective or not–and the government has implemented it very clumsily–but at least this morning our neighborhood was basically shut down. The street above is normally very busy at 8:00 AM in the morning.


The street was not totally quiet, though. Pong, a simple little bakery, was open with their guard outside. And the woman in the stainless steel shop may not have been on duty–she lives above the shop–but put out a few wares just in case someone desperately needed a drying rack for clothes.

Now, the real thing….

Usually we find out how many COVID-19 infections were detected in Cambodia in one day in the newspaper the following morning, but today so many people tested positive the government announced at 2:30 PM that they had 576 infections already for today. To put that into perspective, we had about 350 infections for ALL OF 2020. That is a minuscule number compared to other countries but it’s a very significant shift for Cambodia where we don’t have a strong healthcare system. I suspect we’re in for strict measures to try to cope with the sudden increase.

Say what?

Does the government in Cambodia really think it necessary to build a special crematorium to burn the bodies of deceased COVID-19 victims? If washing hands for twenty seconds and spritzing with sanitizer can take care of the virus, wouldn’t burning the body more than have the same effect? The special crematorium will be just like the regular crematoriums except that it will only be used for coronavirus victims. Why make a special facility?