PHNOM PENH, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Friday told parents and legal guardians of adolescents aged from 12 to 17 years old to get them ready for COVID-19 vaccinations.

In an audio message released publicly, the prime minister said there are around 2 million adolescents in the Southeast Asian nation.

"I'd like to call on parents and legal guardians to get ready to bring their children and grandchildren to receive the vaccines when the time comes," Hun Sen said. "We want to achieve herd immunity which will enable us to reopen socio-economic activities, especially schools that we have closed and allowed only distance learning through online systems. This is a loss for us."

If the adolescents are vaccinated, schools from secondary schools onwards will be able to reopen, he said, adding that the vaccinations for the adolescent group will be commenced from Phnom Penh capital city and Kandal province to the coastal province of Preah Sihanouk before being expanded to other provinces.

Cambodia launched an anti-COVID-19 inoculation drive on Feb 10, with China being the key vaccine supplier.

To date, 5.41 million people, or 54.1 percent of the 10 million targeted adult population, have been vaccinated, Hun Sen said, adding that the kingdom has planned to inoculate the 10 million targeted adult population by November.

Cambodia reported 889 new COVID-19 infections including 207 imported cases on Friday, pushing the national total caseload to 65,500, the health ministry said, adding that 27 new fatalities were recorded, taking the overall death toll to 1,052.

The kingdom also saw 849 other patients recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 57,027. Enditem

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