Life has returned to normal for children in Cambodia, with most of them vaccinated against COVID-19, and the southeast Asian nation has reported no new cases for more than three weeks.

The health ministry said Cambodia had administered COVID-19 vaccines to over 15 million people, or 94 percent of its total population of 16 million, of whom 4.72 million, or 29.5 percent, are children aged 3 to 18.

China's Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines have been used widely in the country's immunization program, and Sinovac is the only vaccine used to inoculate children.

With the high vaccination rates, children can return to school and play freely outdoors after being kept at home for over two years.

First joyful Children's Day amid pandemic

As she took her 7-year-old son to play at a public playground in front of Wat Botum pagoda, Ouk Socheata, a market vendor in Phnom Penh, said it's the first time this year that children have been able to go out. They can enjoy Children's Day again after missing it for the last two years due to the pandemic.

"I'm very happy to see daily lives returning to normality and children have returned to school, and in free time, I can bring my son to play at public playgrounds or go to the malls again," she said.

"I can say that daily lives in Cambodia have almost returned to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic era thanks to the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines," the 29-year-old mother said.

Socheata said she and her son had been fully vaccinated with Sinovac and that she trusted the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine in protecting them from COVID-19.

"So far, none of my family members has been infected with COVID-19," she said.

Sino-Cambodian COVID-19 fight

Ung Bunheng, a public servant in the southern Kandal province, said his four-year-old daughter has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with Sinovac.

The 30-year-old father said he is very grateful to China for supplying vaccines to Cambodia timely and regularly and to the Cambodian government for providing the jabs to people free of charge.

"Chinese vaccines have not only saved our lives, but also helped revive our economy," he said.

Bunheng said the Cambodia-China joint COVID-19 fight should be a role model for international cooperation, and he believes that it will inject greater vitality into building a community of a shared future between Cambodia and China.

The health ministry's director-general and spokesman Hok Kim Cheng said Chinese vaccines had helped Cambodia achieve strong herd immunity and revive its economy.

"Chinese vaccines are essential for Cambodia to save people's lives and stabilize our health system," he said.

Cambodia has fully resumed its socio-economic activities and reopened its borders to fully vaccinated travelers without quarantine last November.

"The Cambodian government has made the correct decision to choose China as a strategic supplier of COVID-19 vaccines, so that's why Cambodia has enough vaccines for its people," said Kin Phea, director-general of the International Relations Institute at the Royal Academy of Cambodia.

(With input from Xinhua)