Péter Szijjártó expressed “deep” regret and sent an apology to his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn, for the hardships caused by him for being tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after his visit, news site Telex writes.
The Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister had a telephone conversation with Sokhonn on November 12th, and both politicians shared it in social media posts.
During his visit to Cambodia on November 3rd, Péter Szijjártó had meetings with several senior government officials who were quarantined as a precaution after the Hungarian minister tested positive for Covid-19 upon his arrival to Thailand the very next day.
So far, 1,166 people have been tested for COVID-19 in Cambodia after the minister’s visit. Two senior Cambodian officials and Csaba Őry, the Hungarian Ambassador to Cambodia and Vietnam were diagnosed with the virus.
Following Szijjártó’s positive test, Cambodia took immediate action- the country locked down schools, bars, and cinemas in the capital, Phnom Penh, and a surrounding province, while Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Sen, went into quarantine.
The Asian country has so far managed to avoid the pandemic. Authorities have not registered any fatalities, with only 292 infections, 286 of whom have already fully recovered.
Later, the Foreign Ministry told Telex that “the Foreign Minister tested negative right before his departure. Since he was traveling after a negative test, no one can rightly claim that he infected anyone in Cambodia.”
Featured photo via Péter Szijjártó’s Facebook page
