UPDATE: Ministry Confirms Japanese Traveler Virus Case

Phnom Penh: A press conference currently being held by the Ministry of Health and World Health Officials has announced that the case of a Japanese national who tested positive for COVID-19 after leaving Siem Reap has been confirmed.

UPDATE: The Japanese Embassy has released the following details:

Patient information:
1. Age: 40+
2. Sex: Male
3. Accommodation:?
4. History of travel:
February 16: left Japan
February 16 trips to Cambodia through Vietnam,
February 21: A trip to the Philippines
February 28: traveling back to Cambodia
March: 4 Returned to Japan via Vietnam

5. Symptoms of health:
Feb. 21: Fever
March 2: Cough and sickness
March 3: Consultation at the hospital, and advised to continue travel
March 4: consulting, medical consulting rooms at monitoring stations in Nagoya  Japanese airport due to chest pain and cough

Minister Mam Bun Heng said: “The Ministry of Health informs the public that after receiving this clear information of a Japanese man infected with Covid-19; the ministry and Siem Reap authority are working on this case with transparency and accuracy in accordance with the procedures of the World Health Organisation.”

“relevant officials are investigating to find those who had close contacts with the Japanese man for health examination and put in quarantine.”

The ministry said the Japanese man is an international businessman, not a tourist. He has recently been to Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Japan and that no sources have confirmed when or where he was infected with Covid-19.

A representative from WHO said (in English and Khmer) that testing will concentrate on those showing clear symptoms who have been in close contact with people who test positive or have recently been to countries with high numbers of case.

More to follow.

UPDATE: SWIFT reports that around 40 people who have been in contact with the man in Siem Reap have been isolated, 4 more (some possibly Japanese nationals) placed in quarantine for 14 days.