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.
Coronavirus: More passengers for Changi and SIA, but much lower than in 2019
The opening of the Singapore-China green lane and the restarting of transit flights helped to boost passenger movements at Changi Airport last month, but only barely. The number - 48,200 - is still 99.2 per cent below what it was in the same period last year, data released by Changi Airport Group (CAG) showed yesterday. The Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group has reported a similar plunge in passenger numbers, with the 17,700 passengers it carried last month a 99.5 per cent drop from last year. The numbers reflect the challenges ahead for the local aviation sector as it grapples with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. CAG told The Straits Times that it has handled more than 10,000 transit passenger movements since the gradual reopening to transit flights on June 2, "though these still remain at very low levels compared to pre-Covid-19". – The Straits Times
Covid carelessness worrying
The increasing trend of some people returning to their pre-Covid-19 pandemic lifestyle has gotten their fellow Malaysians worried. Those interviewed by the New Straits Times said they see people defying social distancing rules, handshaking and hugging. They felt this was due to negligence in complying with the standard operating procedures (SOP) and a false sense of comfort despite the ongoing pandemic. Engineering graduate Toby Chan, 25, said during a recent rip to a mall, he saw many not wearing face masks, or not wearing it right. "At Berjaya Times Square, I saw a man casually walk into an elevator that was filled with the maximum number of people. He broke social distance guidelines, even as the occupants stared at him. "It proved how bad people's attitudes are. Things are starting to look like how it was during the first few days of the Movement Control Order (MCO), when people still went out to socialise like there was no virus around." Chan said he would not be surprised if there was a second wave of Covid-19 as people were getting more complacent by the day. – New Straits Times
Health chiefs 'prepared for mass testing'
The Public Health Ministry's Department of Medical Sciences (DMS) on Monday assured members of the public of its Covid-19 testing capability as the country prepares for fresh infections now that most businesses have reopened. The director-general of the DMS, Opas Kankawinphong, on Monday outlined what the public health community was doing to prepare for the re-emergence of the novel coronavirus even though the country has witnessed no local cases for more than 50 days. He said the number of laboratories, public and private, has been boosted to 209 across the country, from an initial two when the outbreak started in January, and all of them can return results within 24 hours. He also talked up Thailand's vaccine research efforts, increased local production of Covid-19 test kits, the development of new testing methods and investigation into mutations of the virus. To expand testing capacity, the department has also collaborated with the Department of Communicable Diseases Control to roll out saliva tests which have proved to be easier, effective and less costly elsewhere. Currently, the RT-PCR "swab test" is used which is 95% accurate. – Bangkok Post
South Sulawesi flood kills at least 38 people, dozens reportedly missing
Severe flooding that hit North Luwu regency, South Sulawesi, last week claimed at least 38 lives, while dozens more remain missing, authorities reported on Monday. “As of Monday, the joint rescue team has recorded a total of 38 casualties,” Makassar National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) spokesperson Rizal said as quoted by kompas.com. On Sunday, the joint team found two victims in Pombakka village, West Malangke district. “One was a female, estimated to be aged 23, and another victim, a male, was found at the Masamba River, Bone Tua subdistrict,” he said. Rizal explained that the two bodies, which were taken to Hikmah Masamba Hospital, had not yet been identified. According to a report by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency on Sunday, 40 people were reportedly missing. The disaster also injured 58 people and caused 14,483 from Sabbang, Baebunta and Masamba districts to flee from their homes. – The Jakarta Post
Galvez recommends putting up 4 hospitals in NCR solely for COVID-19 treatment
The chief implementer of the government’s COVID-19 efforts recommended the establishment of four hospitals in Metro Manila that would be solely dedicated to COVID-19 treatment. During a meeting of Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) members with President Rodrigo Duterte aired on Tuesday, Secretary Carlito Galvez said putting up such hospitals would not only expand the country’s capacity to treat COVID-19 but to also ensure that treatment for non-coronavirus patients would not be compromised. Currently, only 14,594 out of the over 107,000 hospital beds in the country are dedicated to COVID-19 patients. Of these beds, 9,723 are in government hospitals. “Our problem here, if we utilize the percentage from the patients who are non-COVID, the non-COVID [patients] are the ones being compromised – those are what we call dialysis and cancer patients – they are becoming the casualty.”, Galvez told the President. To date, the Philippines has so far recorded 69,898 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country. Of the number, 23,072 have so far recovered while 1,835 have died from the disease. – INQUIRER.net
PM urges HCM City to disburse public investment funds
Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has urged HCM City authorities to adopt drastic measures to accelerate public investment disbursement. Speaking at a meeting with local authorities on Monday, he said though the city has made great efforts in promoting socio-economic development and COVID-19 prevention and fighting, its economic growth was still low, greatly affecting the growth of the whole country. In the first six months of this year, it grew 1.02 per cent because the service industry, which accounts for 60 per cent of its GRDP, was seriously affected. Normally, the city’s economic growth is 1.3-1.5 times higher than national economic growth. There were a number of large projects which have suffered delays, especially public investment projects. A report from HCM City’s People’ Committee revealed that as of July 15, as much as VNĐ18.836 trillion (US$809.4 million) has been disbursed, accounting for nearly 49 per cent of the set target. – Viet Nam News
China, Cambodia reach free trade agreement after 6 months of talks
Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan and his Cambodian counterpart Pan Sorasak jointly announced on Monday the completion of China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks, half a year after the two sides launched the negotiations. That marks almost the fastest speed for FTA talks across the globe, reflecting the sound economic and trade cooperation base between the two countries as well as their strong willingness to promote bilateral trade and investment to hedge against shocks brought on by the global pandemic. Next, the two sides will fulfil their own domestic procedures and strive to sign the agreement within 2020, according to a joint statement released by the two countries on the same day. – The Cambodia Daily