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Phnom Penh, Nov 8 (IANS) Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has self-quarantined and will be unable to participate in the upcoming 37th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and related meetings, the country's Foreign Ministry said.
"Prime Minister Hun Sen and Deputy Prime Minister (and Foreign Minister) Prak Sokhonn have expressed deep regret to their counterparts for being absent in these important events due to their mandatory 14-day self-isolation in accordance with the national safety regulation against Covid-19," Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying in a statement on Saturday.
It added that Deputy Prime Minister Aun Pornmoniroth, who is also the Minister of Economy and Finance, will represent Cambodia on behalf of Hun Sen at the summit and related meetings, which will be held via video conference from November 12 to 15.
Hun Sen and some of his government officials have been in a 14-day quarantine at their respective homes since November 4, a day after meeting with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto, who tested positive for the virus upon his arrival in Thailand from Cambodia on his Asian tour.
Cambodia's Ministry of Health (MoH) said in a statement on Saturday that a total of 889 people, who came in direct and indirect contacts with Szijjarto, had tested negative for the disease so far.
However, they are required to go on a 14-day self-quarantine at home, pending three more tests on November 9, 14 and 18 to make sure that they are free of the virus, the statement said.
Hun Sen said that he and his wife Bun Rany as well as bodyguards and chauffeurs, totally 18 people, had undergone first testing for the virus and the results came out negative.
He added that he and those involved will undergo the next three tests as required by the MoH.
The Southeast Asian nation has recorded a total of 294 confirmed cases to date, the MoH said, adding that none have died and 288 have recovered.
--IANS
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