These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Over $5.5b to be paid out in Jobs Support Scheme from Oct 29
Over $5.5 billion under the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) will be paid out to more than 140,000 employers from Oct 29, to help them retain their workers amid the Covid-19 pandemic. This will help businesses pay the wages of some 1.9 million local employees, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Monday (Oct 19). With this latest round of pay-outs, the total amount disbursed under the scheme will exceed $21.5 billion, said the ministry in a joint statement with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras). The JSS was introduced in the first Budget support package by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat in February, and enhanced in successive packages. The wage subsidy applies to the first $4,600 of gross monthly wages paid to each Singaporean or permanent resident employee. The scheme was recently extended to cover wages paid up to March next year for firms in sectors harder hit by the Covid-19 crisis, and up to December this year for sectors which are managing well. MOF and Iras said this month's payment goes towards supporting wages paid to local workers from June to August. Employers in the aviation, tourism and built environment sectors will get 75 per cent support. Those in food services, retail, arts and entertainment, land transport, and marine and offshore will get 50 per cent; and those in all other sectors, 25 per cent. Firms in industries that were not allowed to resume on-site operations after the circuit breaker, which ended on June 1, will have their support levels topped up to 75 per cent for the period that they were not allowed to resume operations. Eligible employers will be notified by post of their pay-out amount, and can also log on to myTax Portal to view the electronic copy of the letter. Those with PayNow Corporate or Giro arrangements with Iras can expect their pay-outs from Oct 29. – The Straits Times
Almost 3,000 Kelantan prison inmates tested for Covid-19
A total of 2,967 inmates at two prisons in Kelantan have undergone tests for Covid-19. State Health director Datuk Dr Zaini Hussin said the inmates, at the Pengkalan Chepa and Machang prisons, had either undergone screening or swab tests. He said the tests were carried out since March this year. "The latest group of 105 inmates at both prisons were required to undergo tests on Saturday, at their respective prisons," he said in a statement today. Dr Zaini said all 2,967 inmates tested negative for Covid-19. He added that the measure will be carried out from time to time to ensure all inmates are free of the coronavirus. Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had previously said that there is a need to relook Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP) in Peninsular Malaysia prisons. He said health officers will increase screening, not just in prisons, but also at remand, lock-up and detention centres, as 25 percent of the country's Covid-19 cases are in prisons in Peninsular Malaysia. – New Straits Times
Tak closes border as Covid-19 fears grow
Tak officials announced a week-long border closure on the same day Covid-19 tests came back negative for all 26 classmates of a 10-year-old found among the latest batch of three reported cases in the district. Mae Sot Hospital announced the results of swiftly conducted tests yesterday just hours after the province's governor signed an order temporarily suspending commercial use of the crossing, in a bid to prevent curtail a spike in cases that has already seen eight positive test results so far this month. Tak governor Phongrat Phiromrat ordered the border closed for goods transit from 3pm yesterday until 8.30am on Sunday, Oct 25, as part of disease control measures. Active testing in the border district of Mae Sot earlier found three Myanmar lorry drivers and five residents near the Madina community to be infected. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who visited Mae Sot yesterday, urged locals not to panic, claiming the positive tests proved disease control measures, including health screening and testing in, were working and catching most infections on entry or very soon after. He did, however, express concern that illegal crossings could still pose a threat after border patrol authorities yesterday arrested 12 Thai nationals for skirting the checkpoint as they travelled from Myawaddy to Mae Sot. Officials said they spotted several footprints and the tracks of wheeled suitcases on the banks of Moei River in tambon Mae Pa which led them to find 11 women and one man hiding in the forest. – Bangkok Post
Soekarno-Hatta airport sets special lanes for Indonesia-Singapore travellers
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport is providing special lanes for passengers traveling between Indonesia and Singapore as the two countries have agreed to establish a travel corridor to facilitate urgent diplomatic missions and essential business trips. The travel arrangement, called the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL), will come into effect on Oct. 26. “We have provided several checkpoints for passengers traveling the Indonesia-Singapore route within the RGL scheme,” state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II director Muhammad Awaluddin said in a statement on Sunday as quoted by tribunnews.com. He added that the arrangement would adhere to strict COVID-19 health protocols. Travelers using the special lanes will have to go through thermal scanners at terminals prior to stopping at a check-in counter, where they are required to show a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result that is valid for 72 hours. They must then verify their health through the electronic health alert card (e-HAC) application before they are allowed to board the plane. Meanwhile, for arriving travellers, Awaluddin said that as soon as they reached the arrival terminal, they would have to pass check-in clearance through e-HAC, which they filled out upon departure. They must then pass the immigration and customs counters before reaching the PCR testing area. If they test negative, they are allowed to continue their trip to Indonesia. However, if the PCR test shows a positive result, the traveller would have to undergo quarantine. Previously, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi said the travel corridor was limited to pressing diplomatic and business trips and did not cover tourism. According to the ministry, Indonesian citizens seeking to enter Singapore via the corridor will be required to have official sponsors from Singaporean state agencies and enterprises, in addition to a safe travel pass. Likewise, Singaporean nationals traveling to Indonesia will be required to have official sponsors from Indonesian state departments and business entities, in addition to a visa. The agreement has established two routes for the travel corridor, one between Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Changi International Airport and the other between the Batam Ferry Terminal and the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. – The Jakarta Post
Virgin coconut oil a potential antiviral agent vs COVID-19, research shows
Experiments have shown evidence that virgin coconut oil may defeat the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19). “There are still alternative solutions against COVID-19 aside from vaccines. Although further investigation is needed before we develop a possible prevention or treatment option, we aim to give Filipinos hope through our ongoing local research initiatives,” Science Secretary Fortunato de la Peña said in a statement. After six months of experiments, results showed that compounds from coconut oil and virgin coconut oil, or VCO, a readily available commodity in the Philippines, decreased coronavirus count by 60 to 90 percent at low viral load. Researchers also discovered that the compounds were observed to improve cell survival. More experiments, however, are needed to determine whether higher concentrations of these compounds will further reduce the replication rate of the virus. “The results are very promising, as not only does it show that VCO, by itself, can destroy the virus, but it also has a key mechanism in regulating the immune response against COVID-19. Indeed, we look forward to the results of clinical trials on the various uses of VCO as an adjunct for the treatment of COVID-19,” said Dr. Jaime Montoya, executive director of the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development. Funded by the Department of Science and Technology, the research led by Dr. Fabian Dayrit of Ateneo de Manila University sought to investigate if coconut oil compounds are effective antiviral agents to prevent or reduce COVID-19 infections, following reports of previous research that VCO compounds were effective at killing other viruses. – INQUIRER.net
PM calls for support for flood victims
A nationwide campaign has been launched to raise funds for poor households and flood victims in the central region. The campaign was started on Saturday night and live broadcast from Hà Nội with the attendance of Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân. Speaking at the event, PM Phúc asks businesses, organisations and individuals in and out of the country to continue providing support for people hit by storms in the central region. “The mission of sustainably reducing poverty and ensuring social security is getting more difficult every day, especially when our economy is suffering from a pandemic and natural disasters,” he said. “It requires us to stand together and be more proactive and creative in mobilising and moderating different financial sources. “'Working together for the poor - leaving no one behind’ should not be just an empty slogan, we really should act on it with our sympathy, love, and follow our hearts.” Major storms and floods in the central region have destroyed socio-economic infrastructure in several localities and left several households in extreme poverty and bad health conditions, he added. There are some 1.9 million people in 500,000 poor households who are unable to work and lift themselves out of poverty nationwide, he said. Some VNĐ2.4 trillion (US$103.4 million) was raised at the event. Another fundraising programme was also started on Saturday in HCM City by the city’s Vietnamese Fatherland Front committee. It called for support in the form of goods, necessities and cash from all walks of life for residents in the central region. A total of VNĐ7.7 billion ($332,000) worth of goods and in cash was raised at the event. – Viet Nam News
Video appears to show Phnom Penh Airport bus dropping off passengers so they can evade quarantine
A shocking video released yesterday appears to show a state registered bus allowing passengers to disembark before reaching quarantine facilities, possibly so that they can evade the mandatory 14-day quarantine for incoming passengers to Cambodia. The 2-minute-long video, shot on a mobile phone and originally posted by a social media account under the name of “Yin Seng”, appears to show passengers disembarking with their luggage – aided by bus staff – in an area outside Phnom Penh International Airport. The passengers then stand by the bus – some without facemasks – while the poster angrily remonstrates with bus employees as other passengers appear to unload their luggage. The state license plate of the bus concerned – 3-0215 – is clearly shown in the video. “Yin Seng” comments: “You are not only destroying my efforts, my unit, you are destroying the efforts of the national leaders and the nation as a whole for a small benefit. You sell your conscience; destroy the hope and peace of the people of Cambodia, what more hope?” The poster further alleges that the passengers may be Chinese: “The Ministry of Health must have a proper interpretation, the deportation of Chinese guests who had just gotten off the plane and had to be tested for Kovid-19 by health officials.” According to a post on the social network Telegram this morning, O Vandine, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health is aware of the video and has said: “I saw, and research.” – Khmer Times