Cambodian PM tests positive for COVID after hosting Asean summit

Phnom Penh: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen Tuesday tested positive for Covid-19, just two days after hosting more than a dozen world leaders including US President Joe Biden at a regional summit in Phnom Penh. 

The Cambodian Premier had mask-less encounters with leaders from eight Southeast Asian countries, as well as those from the United States, China, Japan, Australia and Canada at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit, which wrapped up on Sunday.

Asia's longest-ruling leader said in a Facebook post that he got a COVID-19 positive result on arrival in Indonesia for a G20 summit, but was not experiencing any symptoms. 

"Beloved compatriots! Now I have tested positive for Covid-19," he wrote on Facebook, saying he had been tested every day including before flying to the G20 in Bali, and all the results had been negative.

"I am not sure when this virus came to me, but when I arrived, the Indonesians took a sample from me in the evening, and in the morning it confirmed Covid-19 positive".

He said it was "lucky" that he arrived in Bali late and missed a dinner with other leaders.

For safety reasons, the Cambodian delegation will return home on Tuesday, he said, meaning he will miss meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron at the APEC summit in Bangkok later this week.