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.
6,000 SIA Group staff take no-pay leave, so firm can cope with crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic
More than 6,000 of the 27,000 staff from the Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group have taken no-pay leave of varying lengths to help the company cope with the collapse in air travel due to Covid-19. In addition, more than 1,700 employees, including ground staff, pilots and cabin crew, have signed up for volunteer positions and jobs in external organisations. The SIA Group - which comprises SIA, regional arm SilkAir and budget carrier Scoot - disclosed the figures to The Straits Times last Friday. Its spokesman said it has been arranging temporary and secondary job placements for its staff. "These include ambassador roles and opportunities at public transport stations, social service offices and hospitals, for example," said the spokesman. "Many of our crew have also volunteered with various roles within the company. "Staff can apply for the external roles through SIA's employee support portal. They can also tap online financial, mental and physical wellness programmes if needed. – The Straits Times
Covid-19: Northern states hit by relentless wave of cases
Malaysia's northern states, which were previously model cases in terms of relatively low Covid-19 infections, have been hit by a relentless wave of new cases and new clusters. Kedah is the worst-hit state, with 30 active cases up to noon yesterday. The Sivagangga cluster, which erupted in Napoh, Kedah, has spread to neighbouring Penang and Perlis. The cluster, involving three generations, is the nation's most active cluster with 45 cases. Up to noon yesterday, 4,636 people linked to the cluster had been screened. Thirty-one people tested positive in Kedah, 11 in Perlis and three in Penang. These numbers are likely to increase as the Health Ministry continues active case detection for the Sivagangga cluster and two new clusters – Kurau and Meranti – reported yesterday. The Kurau cluster originated in Perak and the Meranti cluster in Putrajaya. Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the Kurau cluster index case (Case 9,050) was reported on Friday in Perak, while its second case (Case 9,082) was detected in Penang. – New Straits Times
Rally rivals set to face off
Confrontation between anti-government protesters and opponents who constantly warn them to stop dragging the high institution into their activism is feared as both sides plan rallies outside parliament this morning. The anti-government movement is led by the Free People and the Student Union of Thailand, while the royalist movement is headed by the Archeewa Chuay Chart (Vocational Students Helping the Nation) group and another group calling itself the Association of Students of Thailand. The two sides have both announced their plans to rally outside parliament at 10am today. The anti-government side is demanding the government stop threatening people who come out to exercise their democratic rights and freedom. The group has criticised injustice and disparities in society, urged a rewrite of the constitution and House dissolution. The other side, meanwhile, accuses the first side of having a hidden agenda, which targets the high institution, and warning anti-government protesters to stick to their claimed goal of finding a way out of the country's "political crisis". The anti-government side has asked its supporters to rally outside parliament the morning before they gather again at Thammasat University's Rangsit campus at 5pm when thousands of people, mostly university students, are expected. – Bangkok Post
Bag containing Rp 161.34 million in public funds stolen in E. Nusa Tenggara shop
A bag containing Rp 161.34 million (US$11,000) in village funds in cash was stolen in Maumere city, Sikka regency, East Nusa Tenggara, on Friday, the Sikka Police have said. Sikka Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Sajimin said the Wolomage village treasurer, Theresia Pio, had stopped by a store in Maumere city to buy some things. She had the bag of cash with her. She left the bag at the store’s bag check counter, but as she was leaving, she found that it had disappeared along with the cash inside it. “The bag full of cash was stolen,” Sajimin said on Saturday, as quoted by kompas.com. Store surveillance footage from the time of the bag’s disappearance shows two men in the shop. One is haggling over the price of a carpet on display in front of the store, distracting the staff at the bag check counter. The other takes the bag from the counter while the attendants are looking away. The police are searching for the two apparent thieves. The village fund program is one of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's flagship policies. About Rp 257 trillion was distributed to villages during Jokowi’s first term, and the amount is set to increase to Rp 400 trillion in the 2019-2024 period. – The Jakarta Post
DOH: Wearing of face shields only encouraged and not mandatory, for now
For the Department of Health (DOH), wearing of face shields is only encouraged and not mandatory, at least for now. In an online briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the department is following the resolution of the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) which only encourages, and not mandates, the wearing of face shields. “The IATF resolution states that face shields are encouraged. But we are not saying that that is mandatory already, although there have been other agencies that already released orders mandating it for specific sectors,” Vergiere said. Vergeire said the DOH is trying to balance the health and cost concerns before recommending to make face shields mandatory. “The DOH is trying to balance it especially since using face shields also entails cost, so we are really studying whether or not we make it mandatory,” Vergeire said. “But for now, we are just encouraging it based on studies that have been done by our local researchers that it adds more to the protection of an individual from this transmission of the disease,” she added. – INQUIRER.net
Two more die of COVID-19, one just 33-years-old
Two people have died of COVID-19 related complications in Vietnam, one a 33-year-old woman, the youngest fatality so far. The other person to lose their life is a 47-year-old woman. Both patients are from Danang and both had serious underlying health conditions. The news was announced on Monday morning by Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son. The total number of deaths related to coronavirus in Vietnam now stands at 13. The 33-year-old woman who died lived in Hai Chau II Ward, Danang City’s Hai Chau District. She was suffering from end-stage chronic renal failure, heart failure, hypertension and sepsis. On July 23 she became extremely tired and had difficulties breathing so was taken to the Department of Endocrinology at Danang Hospital where she was diagnosed with pneumonia. She was isolated and tested for SARS-COV-2 with the results coming back positive on July 26. – Viet Nam News
Ministry records two new Covid cases, two recoveries
The Ministry of Health on Sunday confirmed two new Covid-19 cases in the Kingdom as well as two recoveries. One of the new Covid-19 patients is a 27-year-old female UN Blue Helmet peacekeeper who returned from Mali on July 10. The other is a 41-year-old Canadian woman who arrived in Cambodia on Friday via South Korea. The ministry said the peacekeeper had been quarantined since she returned to Cambodia. Nine of the 80 peacekeepers who returned from Mali on July 10 have tested positive for Covid-19. Four tested positive on July 23 and four others on July 28. The latest peacekeeper to test positive had been tested five times. A ministry official said in the past, quarantine measures were not comprehensively applied in Kampong Speu, where the peacekeepers were quarantined. Ministry spokesperson Or Vandine briefly told The Post on Sunday that all the peacekeepers who returned from Mali would have to be re-tested. “This group has been found [Covid-19] one after another. So, we have to track them. When we tested the Blue Helmet peacekeeper for the fourth time, the result was not clear. The fifth found her to be positive,” Vandine said. – The Phnom Penh Post