Cambodia records first COVID-19 death over a year into pandemic

New law imposes tough penalties for rule-breakers amid worst outbreak

A shipment of 600,000 Chinese-made vaccine doses arrives in Phnom Penh in February: Cambodia's first official COVID-19 death comes after it started its inoculation drive. © Reuters

SHAUN TURTON, Contributing writer

March 11, 2021 18:33 JST

PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia reported its first official death from COVID-19 on Thursday, more than a year since the pandemic began and just as the country's legislature passed stiff new penalties for flouting virus protocols.

In a statement, the country's Ministry of Health said a 50-year-old Cambodian man died from the respiratory virus at Phnom Penh's Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital at 10.40 a.m.