PHNOM PENH, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Ministry of Health (MoH) secretary of state and spokeswoman Or Vandine on Saturday called on the Cambodian people to get their booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as new community cases continued to be detected in the kingdom.
Seventeen new cases were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in the last 24 hours, bringing the total tally to 137,394, with 134,114 recoveries and 3,056 deaths, the MoH said, adding that the Southeast Asian nation has not seen any new deaths since April.
"COVID-19 vaccination booster dose is a powerful tool to prevent severe illness, hospitalization and death due to COVID-19," Vandine wrote on social media.
She also urged the public to continue to comply with health protocols, including wearing face masks, washing hands regularly and maintaining physical distancing.
Buoyed by its high vaccination rates, Cambodia has resumed all socioeconomic activities and reopened its borders to travelers without quarantine since November last year.
According to the MoH, 94.7 percent of Cambodia's 16 million population have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, 90.5 percent have taken two basic shots, 62 percent have got a third dose, 24 percent have obtained a fourth dose, and 3.6 percent have received a fifth dose.
In Cambodia, COVID-19 vaccines are free for all eligible people aged three years and older.
China's Sinovac and Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines have been widely used in the kingdom's immunization programs. ■
