On 21 December 2023, Singapore’s gov.sg WhatsApp channel broadcast a message about exercising caution to manage a spike in COVID-19. The significance of the message lay in the fact that it was the first about the virus in ten months and that the earlier message was about standing down to DORSCON Green (Disease Outbreak Response System Condition, Green indicating mild presence of COVID-19 and not spreading easily). Though COVID-19 never left us, its resurgence is new and not limited to Singapore. Malaysia reported almost a doubling of cases. Cambodia has also seen an increase but it is well below the peak recorded in July 2021. Despite this, Cambodia has seen unusually low numbers of cases and deaths. It is this that makes Cambodia’s political and practical experience a useful study in the management of COVID-19 in the “new normal”. That it remains the operating environment is reiterated by the Cambodian Health Ministry’s recent advisory which also encourages people to take care during the winter.