Cambodia closes border crossings with Vietnam and Thailand

Cambodia closes border crossings with Vietnam and Thailand in latest move to curb spread of Covid-19, specifically the new Delta (India) variant. In an address on July 1st the Prime-Minister stated that all arrivals should be subjected to rapid-tests without exception.

What is the Delta variant?

The Delta variant, also known as the India variant is not only much more contagious, but also affects younger people more than main train of Covid-19, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The PM went on further to state that any patients that test positive for the Delta variant were to be quarantined for 21 days, as apposed to the 14 days for other strains of the virus.

Cambodia has seen a surge in patients infected with the Delta variant, particularly among returning workers from Thailand, which is currently going through a so called “third phase”. The country has also only managed to vaccinate around 2 percent of its entire population according to Our World in Data, a website which monitors global vaccination rates.

You can check out Our World in Data here.

Cambodia closes border crossings with Vietnam and Thailand – what does it mean for tourism?

In the short term it means very little, tourists were not permitted to cross from either country anyway, although could still have serious ramifications for the long-term opening of the country.

Cambodia had previously announced a tentative opening to tourism by the 4th quarter of 2020, for vaccinated travelers, although with the fear surrounding the new variant there is every chance that this could well change. To read about Cambodia’s plan to open to tourism click here

Ironically Thailand recently initiated an opening to vaccinated tourists via the tourist mecca of Phuket which started on July 1st. This is very much being seen as litmus test for Cambodia with regards to its own plans to open to tourism.

To read about the Thai plan to reopen to tourism click here .

In short though don’t hold your breath on crossing any borders soon, hopes for some kind of imminent travel bubble have very much burst.