These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
Get up to speed with what’s happening in the fastest growing region in the world.
Singapore PR returning from India is first imported Covid-19 case since June 14
One imported case was among the coronavirus patients announced in Singapore on Tuesday (June 30), said the Ministry of Health (MOH). The patient, a 44-year-old permanent resident, returned to Singapore from India on June 24. She was placed on stay-home notice (SHN) upon arrival and had been ferried in a dedicated transport to an SHN facility to start her 14-day isolation. She developed symptoms during SHN, said MOH. It is the first imported case since June 14, when a Bangladeshi man who came to Singapore to seek medical treatment that was not related to Covid-19 later tested positive for the coronavirus. The woman was initially counted as a community case on Tuesday afternoon but later reclassified on Tuesday night as an imported one by MOH. The five community cases reported on Tuesday are two Singaporeans and three work permit holders. – The Straits Times
1,291 preschools in Sabah reopen, 18 remain closed
A total of 1,291 government and private preschools in Sabah reopened today. State Education Department director Dr Mistrine Radin said among the preschools involved were the ones operating in national schools (SK), Chinese national-type schools (SJKC), and private pre-schools registered with the Ministry of Education. "A total of 886 government preschools have reopened involving 29,989 students and 1,326 teachers. "For private institutions, 405 preschools reopened involving 24,081 students and 1,930 teachers," she told reporters after visiting the SK Buang Sayang Papar preschool, here, today. Also present were Papar district education officer Suhaimi Matshah and SK Buang Sayang headmaster Basnih Maidin. Mistrine also noted there were 18 preschools in areas affected by floods that were unable to operate yet. These schools were in Papar (9), Kota Belud (4), Beaufort (4), and Tenom (1). – New Straits Times
Govt bets on local tourism
The cabinet on Tuesday approved two stimulus packages worth 22.4 billion baht to revitalise domestic tourism which has been left reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic. The packages will start today and run until Oct 31, said deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul. She said that originally there were three packages known as "Happiness-sharing trips", "Let's travel", and "Moral Support" – proposed by the Tourism and Sports Ministry. But two of them – "Happiness-sharing trips" and "Let's travel" have now been merged and are known as "We travel together", she said. The "Happiness-sharing trips'' package worth 2 billion baht is to subsidise domestic flight fares, inter-provincial bus fares and car rental fees for a total of 2 million people. – Bangkok Post
'Don't rush into new normal', Jokowi tells local leaders amid rising COVID-19 cases
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has instructed all regional leaders to maintain a balance between public health and economic activities and not to rush in implementing the so-called "new normal" amid persistently rising COVID-19 cases. He also urged regions not to start easing to keep the economy running without proper public health control. “Don’t ease [the restrictions] without proper control. We don’t want a good economic situation but at the same time rising COVID-19 cases,” the President said in a video conference with Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo during a working visit to Semarang on Tuesday. “What we want is to be able to control COVID-19 and an economic condition that does not disrupt people’s welfare.” He acknowledged that it would not be an easy task to balance both the health and economic sectors amid the crisis, therefore he ordered all stakeholders to engage in better coordination. – The Jakarta Post
62 BOC employees test positive for COVID-19, 34 have recovered
A total of 62 employees of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) have tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with more than half being able to recover. “The number of cases is 62, tapos (then) 34 [have] already recovered hence we have 28 active cases,” BOC spokesperson Jet Maronilla said in a text message to reporters on Wednesday. He said the 28 employees who still have the disease are asymptomatic. He added that they are all in quarantine and are being monitored by the BOC medical division. According to Maronilla, the BOC has already conducted a total of 1,277 rapid antibody tests and 568 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests for COVID-19 among its employees. “Employees with close contacts are being tested by RT-PCR while those with secondary exposure are subjected to rapid testing,” he said. – INQUIRER.net
Việt Nam to speed up COVID-19 vaccine research
Việt Nam will mobilise resources to accelerate the progress of creating a COVID-19 vaccine, the Ministry of Health has said. The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Việt Nam has shown positive testing results on animals, serving as an important foundation to progress and complete the vaccine, according to the ministry. Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam held a meeting with the health ministry and scientists on coronavirus testing kits and the COVID-19 vaccine in Hà Nội on Tuesday. Deputy Minister of Health Nguyễn Thanh Long said a number of countries had tested COVID-19 vaccines on mice and chickens before moving on to apes, and eventually human trials. Vietnamese scientists were working on developing a COVID-19 vaccine and plan to manufacture a large quantity of vaccines. The health ministry would continue to promote vaccine research and production. – Viet Nam News
Garment Workers Pressed by Piling Microfinance Debt, Report Says
Tens of thousands of garment workers, who are facing slashed work hours and wages amid the global pandemic and economic downturn, will struggle to repay mounting microfinance debt, a new civil society report says. The majority of more than 100 surveyed microloan-holding union workers said they were already eating less food or had taken another loan to repay their debts, according to the report released on Tuesday by labour rights group Central, human rights organization Licadho and the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU). The vast majority of surveyed workers, all CATU members from three garment factories located in Phnom Penh and Kampong Chhang province who were questioned between March and May, said they would not be able to repay debts if their factory suspended operations and that “their livelihoods were much worse or slightly worse after taking a loan,” the report says. – The Cambodia Daily
Myanmar co-op department to distribute equipment vouchers to help farmers
The Cooperative Department under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation will distribute the equivalent of US$25 million in agricultural inputs to farmers, said its director U Myo Aung. "We will not be giving out money. Vouchers to purchase important agricultural inputs like chemical fertilisers and insecticides will be distributed instead,” he said in Nay Pyi Taw on June 30. A total of 120,000 farmers in Nay Pyi Taw, Shan State, Sagaing, Magwe, Mandalay, Ayeyarwaddy regions will receive subsidies of up to K120,000 per person for purchasing machinery and other agricultural inputs. Another 180,000 farmers in the country will receive K120,000 in subsidies in the second phase. “It’s the right way. People could buy motor bikes or TVs if cash is given out," said U Tun Phay, a farmer from Pyinmana. However, he warned that measures are needed to ensure prices are fair. "Even with vouchers, some traders could take advantage of the situation by raising their prices as well.” – Myanmar Times