Cambodian PM Hun Sen tests negative after meeting Hungary FM

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen delivers a statement to journalists on the government measures against the SARS-like virus in Phnom Penh on January 30, 2020. – Cambodia’s health ministry reported the country’s first case of the virus on January 27, a 60-year-old man who arrived from Wuhan and is now stable, as the death toll from China’s viral epidemic on January 30 leapt to 170, with 7,892 confirmed infections. (Photo by TANG CHHIN Sothy / AFP)

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Wednesday he had tested negative for Covid-19, a day after meeting Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto who was confirmed positive for the virus after landing in Thailand.

Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a press release that Szijjarto and all the other Hungarian delegates had undergone testing and had medical certificates to prove they did not have Covid-19 before arriving in Cambodia.

From Phnom Penh the Hungary delegation arrived Tuesday in Bangkok where he tested positive.

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said upon their arrival at Suvarnabhumi international airport, the Hungarian delegates went through the arrival screening process. He and the group was given RT-PCR tests which found the minister to be positive for COVID-19.

It was reconfirmed in the second test before being taken to Bamrasnaradura Hospital and given the anti-viral drug Favipiravir, said Mr. Anutin, adding that the minister was asymptomatic.

Mr. Anutin, who paid a personal visit to the patient at the hospital, said the delegates flew home on a private plane on Wednesday after cancelling all official appointments which included a meeting with Prime Minister Prayut.

Earlier on Tuesday in Phnom Penh, the Hungary delegates met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Hun Sen said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that he and 17 others at his residence including his wife, bodyguards and drivers had tested negative.

“Although I have not contracted Covid-19, I will self-quarantine for 14 days as advised by doctors,” he said.

Several Cambodian ministers and senior officials are being quarantined after meeting Szijjarto, according to the Phnom Penh Post.

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