To Samdech Pichey Sena Tea Banh, His Excellency Mam Bun Heng,
His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, Commanders of the Army!
Working all along, we have run out of strength, in addition to the rise of new diseases, and our civilian doctors are not just doctors for the treatment of Covid-19, but with their day-to-day duties to deal with other illnesses of our people. Due to the sharp increase in number of Covid-19 infection, we have converted and set up a (former) InterContinental Hotel as hospital, now administered by civilian doctor, after the army’s help to reorganize it. (In addition to that) I have ordered the Phnom Penh Municipality and the Army Commander to set up two more hospitals, using the hotels as venues, which could have about 200 rooms or more.
Due to this situation, I discussed with Samdech Pichey Sena Tea Banh to release teams of army doctors to help civilian doctors. On the part of Samdech Pichey Sena Tea Banh, he also informed that he had organized 30 teams of doctors and doctors to help the civilian side. Therefore, I would like to ask Samdech Pichey Sena Tea Banh as well as His Excellency Mam Bunheng to discuss and assign this task. My suggestion for the two hospitals set up in Phnom Penh, if it is established, is to hand over to the army to organize and manage, using doctors and physicians from the army to assist the (mounting tasks faced by civilian doctors). The rest of the force must also be prepared to intervene in high-risk targets. According to Samdech Pichey Sena, as I have confirmed, since the Commander of the Army is already in the Inter-Ministerial Commission and the Sub-Committee on Quarantines, we should hand over the task to the Commander of the Army to manage, organize, and use in conjunction with other forces that are implementing measures to control quarantine and law enforcement interventions.
Now, due to this situation, the medical teams have to get necessary equipment from the Ministry of Health. Therefore, His Excellency Mam Bunheng will prepare and equip this medical force of about 300 people, divided into 30 groups, with personal protective equipment (PPE) such as clothing, masks and other things the team may require. Also, other medical equipment (necessitate for the operation) of the new hospitals, such as ventilators or other medical equipment … needed for treatments of people with Covid-19 disease in the two said hospitals for Phnom Penh.
Separately, the regime for these forces directly provided by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. (I) requested that HE Aun Pornmoniroth arrange this work with an operational team from the Army, where doctors from the Army involved in the treatment of Covid-19 will receive the same regime as those of civilian doctors. I hope that this work will be done well, with three ministers involved, the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Health and the Minister of Economy and Finance. The Ministry of National Defense is supplying doctors and nurses. The Ministry of Health provides medical equipment for individuals who are doctors and for hospitals to be set up, while the Ministry of Economy and Finance provides rations, as received by the civilian doctors, for the army in addition to their salaries and army rations. Now is the time for the army to come out to help increase the strength of civilian doctors.
Of course, we need the army medical teams to continue to vaccinate (people), but the army may be able to share some medical teams to help treat Covid-19 patients, which may increase. If there is a decline (in number), we can still keep them in a state of reserve because the Covid-19 in our country is not over yet, while in other countries it is still happening too. Therefore, the force sent from the Ministry of Defense, under the army commander, must have training to be proficient in the prevention and treatment of people with Covid-19.
These trainings must be meticulous, the equipment must be available, and are same as provided to civilian medical teams. On the other hand, the provision of funding for livelihoods and allowances must go directly from the Ministry of National Defense, from the Ministry of Economy and Finance to the operation teams directly … then, we conclude later so that the supply chain would not have interruption. I would like to emphasize that for other means of transportation, it is not necessary to equip from the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of National Defense. They may only need the Ministry of Health to provide ambulances to transport patients. For other means of transportation, the Ministry of National Defense has to cover itself with both vehicles and fuel.
(May concerned institutions) discuss together to clearly divide the task among them, who is responsible for what, who is responsible for which. The 30-strong force, which still has 300 doctors and paramedics, is a reserve force of the Royal Government. They would be assisting civilian doctors, who have so far been exhausting, and in addition to the tasks of looking after all kinds of diseases. I request an urgent discussion and checking at two more hospitals in Phnom Penh, in addition to the InterContinental hotel. As the number of infection cases escalates, I am asking those who command the forces to inspect locations where their intervention forces have had to go. This is what I would like to provide as instruction to Samdech Pichey Sena Tea Banh, His Excellency Mam Bunheng, His Excellency Aun Pornmoniroth, as well as the Commander-in-Chief and Commander of the Army about the operation in our new situation. Thank you./.
