PHNOM PENH, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Tuesday met with 1,753 students who graduated the 2021 high school exit exam with Grade A, awarding each of them an iPad and 500 U.S. dollars.
Hun Sen said the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines has allowed the top scored students from across the nation to gather in capital Phnom Penh for the first time after a hiatus since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the kingdom in January 2020.
"Successful vaccinations have given us an opportunity to get together again," he said.
Cambodia launched a national vaccination campaign against COVID-19 in February 2021, with China being the key vaccine supplier providing Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines.
"So far, almost 15 million, or 93.7 percent of our (16 million) population have received at least one dose of vaccines," Hun Sen said.
Of them, 14.2 million, or 88.7 percent, have been fully vaccinated with two required shots, according to the health ministry.
Also, some 8.6 million, or 53.7 percent, have taken a third dose, and 1.75 million, or 11 percent, have got a fourth dose.
With its high vaccination rates, the kingdom has resumed all socioeconomic activities and reopened its borders to vaccinated travelers without quarantine since last November.
Cambodia reported three new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday and zero new fatalities, bringing its confirmed total cases to 136,257, including 3,056 deaths. ■
