Hanoi (VNA) – The Cambodian Government on May 26decided to relax the ban on sports activities after the COVID-19 situation inthe country had shown improvement.

Cambodian Minister of Education, Youth andSports Hang Chuon Naron said in a statement that sports activities are nowallowed to resume, but without spectators.

Besides, officials and athletes have to strictlycomply with health recommendations such as there must not be more than 100 peopleeach game, and athletes must not hug or shake hands with one another afterscoring a goal. Sports facilities and equipment must also be disinfected beforetraining sessions or competitions.

Cambodia imposed a ban on sports activities inmid-March following a surge of COVID-19 infections. The situation there hasimproved as only two of the 124 confirmed patients are still under treatment.

Meanwhile, Cambodian businesses are continuingto call on the government to further support the local economy during and afterthe pandemic, through the implementation of collateral-free working loans andnew policies to encourage more foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country.

The calls come after the Cambodian Governmentannounced a plan last week to reduce electricity tariffs for firms in themanufacturing, agriculture, commercial and service sectors from June untilOctober. Companies in these sectors will only be required to pay for theelectricity they consume and are expected to save approximately 25 percent offtheir power bill.

In the Philippines, police in Manila on May 26did a dry run of measures to enforce social distancing on public transport andcontrol the spread of coronavirus. The exercise aimed to manage hundreds ofthousands of people once public transportation eventually resumes after havingbeen closed for nearly 11 weeks.

Spokesman of the light rail transit systemHernando Cabrera said social distancing meant each train will carry only 10percent of its maximum passenger load, about 160 passengers allowed, making itdifficult to managing the flow of people at stations.

Manila capital has practiced social distancingsince March 16 to curb the spread of COVID-19. Its administration decided toease some restrictions on May 16 and is expected to convene a meeting on Mary27 to decide whether or not those measures should be further relaxed.

Meanwhile, Myanmar's Ministry of Labour,Immigration and Population announced on May 26 that it has provided socialsecurity benefits to a total of 26,305 workers of factories, workshops andworkplaces affected by the restrictions against COVID-19.

As part of a move to contain the spread ofCOVID-19, all local factories had to close from April 20 to May 15 formandatory inspections by the ministries concerned.

Myanmar authorities offered employment to over9,300 local people in regions and states in April, down from over 24,000 inMarch due to the outbreak, the ministry's figures showed./.