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.
Another coronavirus will hit humans within a decade, warns expert
Covid-19 is the third coronavirus to jump from animals to humans, but it will not be the last, warns Professor Wang Linfa, director of the Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases at Duke-NUS Medical School. The first two were the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) in 2003 and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) in 2012. Prof Wang had previously warned in December 2013, after Mers emerged in Saudi Arabia, of another jump of coronavirus from animals to humans within a decade. His prediction has proven correct with the emergence of Covid-19. Speaking at the Covid-19: Biomedical Insights Into An Evolving Epidemic webinar organised by the National University of Singapore last night, he again sent out a warning. He said it is almost certain that another coronavirus will jump species within the decade. The only question is when and how bad it will be. – The Straits Times
Police initiate probe on Al-Jazeera's documentary
Police have initiated an investigation into a documentary by news agency Al-Jazeera, which was deemed as derogatory, in its reporting of the Malaysian government's allegedly poor treatment of illegal immigrants in curbing Covid-19. Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador said the probe was launched following police reports lodged against the international news outlet. "It is the responsibility of the police to investigate whether there were seditious elements or any offences committed (in the report). It is still under investigation. "We will call (the media) for questioning in the near future. We would see the (scope) of investigation, whether to be carried out under the Penal Code and the Sedition Act, after calling them in," he told a press conference. He said the federal police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director Datuk Huzir Mohamed would provide further details on the investigation. – New Straits Times
Doctor seeks plasma from ex-patients
One of Thailand's top virologist, Dr Yong Poovarawan, is asking recovered Covid-19 patients to donate more plasma in anticipation of a feared second wave of novel coronavirus infections. "Currently, we have over 250 bags of plasma, and we need more of it," said Dr Yong, virologist and paediatric hepatology professor at Chulalongkorn University. Dr Yong led Chulalongkorn University's research team in testing the efficacy of blood plasma treatments for the most severe Covid-19 cases. Thai doctors had previously used plasma retrieved from recovered patients, in conjunction with other treatments, to stimulate patients' immune response. He said the war against Covid-19 is "far from over", despite good news in the development of new antivirals and vaccines. "The efficiency of currently-available medicines to treat the virus is not fully guaranteed," he said, referring to two antiviral medications which are increasingly being prescribed to treat Covid-19 across the globe. – Bangkok Post
Jakarta still struggles with virus despite improved health facilities
The emergence of new COVID-19 cases in Jakarta, the first national epicentre of the outbreak, is showing no signs of slowing down despite claims that the capital was far more prepared for the disease thanks to improvements in its healthcare system. Jakarta now has 67 referral hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients, with a total capacity of 4,555 beds and 659 intensive care (ICU) rooms, according to the city’s health agency. It has come a long way from having only eight referral hospitals with 904 beds and 80 ICUs in March when the first two cases were officially announced in Indonesia. In the early days of the epidemic, hospitals were operating beyond their capacity and patients had to wait for hours to receive treatment; many were even rejected. Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has said that in March and April, the city would not have been able to treat 6,000 patients at the same time – considered the worst-case scenario – because it did not have an “adequate system”. But the capital has made notable improvements in its healthcare system, having sped up the referral process and monitoring of medical workers and inventory. – The Jakarta Post
DOH to Metro Manila hospitals: Be ready to boost COVID-19 capacity if needed
The Department of Health (DOH) met with Metro Manila hospital administrators on Monday to ensure that all of them complied with the mandatory 30 percent allocation of beds for COVID-19 cases, especially as the capital was seeing yet again a surge in new infections. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that while there were reports that some hospitals were nearing or had already reached capacity, this did not necessarily mean that they were overwhelmed as was the case when the local outbreak started in March. “When a hospital declares it is at full capacity, we must be very cautious in interpreting this. All hospitals were mandated to allot 30 percent of their bed capacity for COVID-19, but not all hospitals complied [with] this,” Vergeire told reporters. For example, a 400-bed hospital may have allocated only 50 beds for COVID-19, or 12.5 percent of its capacity. – INQUIRER.net
Typhoon preparedness still lacking
Despite the efforts of authorities, typhoons continue to pose high risks of great human and material loss in Việt Nam, experts have said. They were speaking at a conference on typhoons held on Monday in Hà Nội by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). The experts said the number of workers specialised in dealing with typhoons was few and the country lacked necessary equipment for them. Senior lieutenant-colonel Đỗ Trung Sỹ, deputy head of the Economy-National Defence 356 Team in Phong Thổ District, the northern mountainous province of Lai Châu, said local terrain was full of obstacles with lots of mountains and slopes so soldiers struggled to access the scene of the typhoon and could not help each other whenever typhoons struck. Local residents often make houses on slopes, or temporary tents on their fields leaving danger caused by landslides and flash floods. Their awareness of preventive measures was limited while task forces only had simple tools and equipment, he said. – Viet Nam News
Cambodian firms to offer COVID-19 insurance to foreign tourists
The Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance and Ministry of Health have collaborated with local insurance companies to issue the 50,000-insurance certificate required for foreign travellers, according to the Khmer Times. The collaboration came after the Cambodian government realised it was difficult to claim the money from foreign insurance companies for the medical treatment and testing fees when a foreign traveller tested positive for the coronavirus and needed hospital treatment in Cambodia. Speaking at a news conference, Youk Sambath, a Health Ministry secretary of state, said the Cambodian government has cooperated with 10 local insurance companies and the service will be available soon for the public and foreigners. – The Cambodia Daily