Cambodia confirms first COVID-19 death

PHNOM PENH — The Ministry of Health of Cambodia announced on March 11 that a 50-year-old Covid-19 patient whose case was linked to the February 20 community transmission had died.

In a press release, the ministry said this was the first Covid-19-related death ever confirmed in the country.

“On March 11, at 10:40am, a 50-year-old Cambodian man died from Covid-19 at the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital,” it said.

The deceased patient resided in Chak Angre commune of Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district. He was a driver for a Chinese business owner in Preah Sihanouk province whose case was also linked to the community outbreak.

Health ministry spokeswoman Or Vandine was not immediately available for comment.

The death came just a day after Prime Minister Hun Sen instructed Phnom Penh municipal and provincial governors to prepare places for the cremation or burial according to the deceased’s traditions.

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