Cambodia questions Malaysia’s coronavirus diagnosis after Westerdam cruise ship passenger cleared
- US woman, 83, has repeatedly tested negative for infection after earlier positive result
- Cambodian PM Hun Sen declares that ‘justice is given to Cambodia and all the passengers on the ship’
The Cambodian government on Friday raised “doubt over the accuracy” of Malaysia’s health testing for its coronavirus diagnosis in the case of a US woman who flew to Kuala Lumpur after being allowed to disembark from a cruise ship in Cambodia.
In the statement, Cambodia’s Health Ministry said “the irregularity of the testing results by Malaysian authorities made all passengers on the Westerdam cruise ship scared and confused”, referring to the Holland America vessel whose disembarking process in Cambodia had been roiled by news of the possible infection.
The statement was made after Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail told a press conference earlier in the day that the 83-year-old woman, who is currently being treated at the Sungai Buloh Hospital, has been tested repeatedly for Covid-19, with the results showing that she is now clear of the virus.
Azizah reportedly said the woman’s tests have come up negative, but that she is still being kept in hospital due to ongoing symptoms.
Prime Minister Hun Sen told his cabinet members: “Today, justice is given to Cambodia and all the passengers on the ship.”