These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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TraceTogether app's upgrade will make contact tracing smoother for tourists
Contact tracing app TraceTogether will be upgraded by next month to allow tourists to do SafeEntry check-ins at shopping malls and dining venues as Singapore gets ready to move to phase three of its reopening. The app, which is mandatory for overseas visitors, will come with a new feature to record and validate their passport numbers during app registration. Validation will be instant by checking against the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's database. "Just as we need to validate users' NRIC (during app sign-up), we need to check that the visitor has entered a valid passport number, and that he has indeed entered Singapore," a spokesman for the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office told The Straits Times. "We are expecting to complete the process of passport validation some time in December. Visitors will need to update to the latest version of the app," she added. With this addition, tourists will be able to scan the SafeEntry QR code using their TraceTogether app. By the end of the year, this will be the only way for them to enter most premises. The move comes as Singapore gradually reopens its borders to leisure travellers, including those from Hong Kong, Brunei, New Zealand and Vietnam. There is no QR code scanning function in the app version tourists currently use, unlike the one that is available to Singapore citizens and permanent residents. In the absence of the QR code scanner, tourists have been asked to show their passports and the TraceTogether app on their phones. Venue operators also need to manually enter passport details in a computer or a mobile device running the SafeEntry (Business) application to record the visit. Tourists have also been able to use their mobile phone camera to scan the SafeEntry QR code to fill up a Web form to enter malls, restaurants and cinemas. – The Straits Times
Frontliners offered mental health support
THE Health Ministry has put in place the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services (MHPSS) to help medical frontliners who are suffering from extreme mental and physical fatigue during the Covid-19 pandemic. The services are made up of innovative and creative engagement approaches, and are being provided by specialised teams mobilised in states, districts and hospitals. Selayang Hospital in Selangor was one of the healthcare institutions that provided the ministry's MHPSS for healthcare workers at the hospital. The services help them manage their mental health. Senior consultant psychiatrist Dr Nor Hayati Ali, head of Selangor Psychiatry Services, said the pandemic was a "very different disaster" than the ones faced before like floods and landslides, where experts were able to deal with clients face-to-face and mobilise social capital to work with them. "The pandemic has forced our society to go into isolation, while healthcare workers are required to do their best to investigate and manage those who are infected with Covid-19. "The pandemic has also created a rare situation where healthcare workers are placed as frontliners and the Red Zone is the hospital itself," she told the New Straits Times. She said the mental health services provided by Selayang Hospital's Psychiatry and Mental Health Department were carried out on two levels. At the intra-hospital level, she said support for the mental health of healthcare workers was provided to prevent stress, burnout or post-traumatic stress disorder. "We also need to continue to manage clients and new referrals from other disciplines." At the state level, support was provided at health clinics and quarantine stations under their care, she said. "Our team aims to work in tandem with other agencies within and beyond the Health Ministry to implement MHPSS. "The three core domains of objectives are to support and promote human capacity, improve social ecology, and understand the influence of culture and value systems and their importance alongside individual and social expectations." Selayang Hospital had come up with a creative well-being kit (WeCARE4UKit) for its staff, besides setting up a 3R Lounge for rest, relieve and recharge called Anjung Damai. It also organised a MHPSS Champion programme for frontliners. Selayang Hospital MHPSS head coordinator Dr Muhammad Haniff Abdullah said the WeCARE4UKit included a small bottle of body wash, hand sanitiser, mask, energy bar, 3-in-1 coffee and tea bags. Anjung Damai, meanwhile, was a lounge where healthcare workers could take a break, he said. "Booking is done digitally via a personalised link, where personnel can fill out a health declaration form and book available slots. A maximum of five people can use the room at a time." Dr Haniff said 90 per cent of the lounge's users said it had helped them cope with stress. – New Straits Times
'Mob Fest' protesters face rap
Anti-government protesters are set to face a slew of charges related to their "Mob Fest" gathering at the Democracy Monument in Bangkok on Saturday, said Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB). The charges are: assaulting two police officers, covering the Democracy Monument and breaking a city ordinance, according to MPB deputy commissioner Piya Tawichai. Regarding the first charge, protesters are accused of hitting a policeman with a flag pole, leaving him with cranial swelling. Another officer was hit with a hard object in the face. The protesters who committed the acts will be charged with assaulting state officials and obstructing their duty. The police have filed a complaint against the protesters with Samran Rat station, Pol Maj Gen Piya said. Regarding the second offence, the protesters are accused of climbing the monument and draping a cloth banner over it. The act is deemed to have degraded the value of the monument, an offence under the Historical Places Act and the Cleanliness Act. The Fine Arts Department and City Hall are assessing the damage, Pol Maj Gen Piya added. The protesters will also be held accountable for blocking traffic and spray-painting offensive messages on public properties around the monument, he said. The deputy police commissioner did not disclose how many protesters will face the charges as the police are still identifying them. A total of 175 people have been charged by police so far in connection with recent protests, said the Lawyers for Human Rights Centre. – Bangkok Post
Aceh prepares to reopen schools
The Aceh administration has issued standard operating procedures for schools as it seeks to resume in-person learning during the pandemic. Under the procedures, schools must provide on-campus facilities to implement health protocols and form a COVID-19 task force. Aceh Education Agency communication and information technology head Teuku Farial said preparations were moving ahead even though no final decision to resume in-person teaching had been made. “As a preparation, we’ve set the SOPs, which include [providing] health facilities, raising awareness and forming [COVID-19] task forces at the school level,” Farial said Friday as quoted by kompas.id, adding that the procedures were necessary to avoid virus clusters at schools once in-person learning was allowed. Aceh has yet to receive a nod on resuming the learning session in classrooms, as none of the provinces 23 regencies/cities had been declared a green zone, or an area with low-risk of COVID-19 infection. “We’re still waiting for our region to earn green zone status. Until then, we cannot tell when we will restart in-person classes. Nevertheless, the preparation continues,” said Farial. Aceh has been applying remote learning, through mobile applications, since the epidemic hit the country in March. Juanda, the head of the teacher development bureau of Aceh’s Teachers Association (PGRI Aceh), said teachers had put maximum efforts into remote teaching. Nevertheless, the school day was shorter than with in-person learning. Amid the situation, several schools have been given permission to organize learning sessions in classrooms, especially for 12th-graders ahead of final exams. “Some schools have started to have in-person learning with strict health protocols and SOPs for emergency situations,” said Juanda. Raihan of the Aceh office of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI Aceh), said 394 children had contracted COVID-19 in the province, with most of them being students. He urged the authorities to prioritize health for all when in-person learning resumed. In September, the national COVID-19 task force added Aceh and Bali to its list of prioritized provinces with the regions seeing rising daily case tallies. The two provinces were added to the eight provinces previously named top priorities in the government’s COVID-19 response, task force chief Doni Monardo said. The initial eight provinces named were Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, North Sumatra, South Kalimantan, South Sulawesi and Papua. Jokowi appointed Doni and Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan to supervise the implementation of COVID-19 measures in prioritized provinces. As of Saturday, Aceh has seen a cumulative 7,862 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 6,265 recoveries and 282 fatalities. – The Jakarta Post
Cagayan still flooded; typhoon deaths now 69
The death toll from the deadliest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year has risen to 69, with 12 people still missing, while many areas remain submerged in Cagayan province, in the northern region worst hit by flooding in 45 years, officials said on Sunday. President Duterte flew to Tuguegarao City on Sunday afternoon to assess the situation in Cagayan Valley, which was heavily flooded after Typhoon “Ulysses” (international name: Vamco) dumped heavy rain over swaths of Luzon, including Metro Manila, on Thursday. He also flew to Pili, Camarines Sur province, to receive briefings from Cabinet officials on damage caused by Ulysses and the earlier Typhoon “Rolly” (Goni) in the Bicol region. Twenty-four people were reported dead in Cagayan, 17 in Calabarzon, 10 in the Cordillera Autonomous Region, eight each in Metro Manila and Bicol, and two in Central Luzon. Among the dead was a 3-year-old boy whose body was recovered along with those of three adults on Saturday from a house in Benguet province that was hit by a landslide at the height of Ulysses. Two engineers, a labourer and a driver from the Department of Public Works and Highways in Ifugao province were also killed in the landslide. Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said the four men were part of a quick-response team that was deployed to clear landslides on the Nueva Vizcaya-Ifugao-Mountain Province Road. They were sheltering in a house during heavy rain when the landslide swept away the house. A fifth member of the team was unharmed, Villar said. “My thoughts and prayers go out to our personnel who bravely served our country and paid the ultimate price. We will extend all efforts to look for the missing and support the families of the victims,” he said. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported that 12 people were missing in Calabarzon, Bicol and Metro Manila. Mark Timbal, spokesperson for the disaster management council, said 21 people were injured and 26,000 houses damaged. – INQUIRER.net
Record number of documents adopted at 37th ASEAN Summit against COVID-19 backdrop
The 37th ASEAN Summit and related summits wrapped up on Sunday with more than 80 documents adopted to concretise the joint efforts of ASEAN member states and their partners in strengthening co-operation against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of adopted documents was the largest in the history of all ASEAN meetings, said Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc. They included the Mid-term Review of ASEAN Community Vision 2025 Blueprints; ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework; ASEAN Plus Three Leaders’ Statement on Strengthening ASEAN Plus Three Co-operation for Economic and Financial Resilience in the Face of Emerging Challenges; and the Hà Nội Declaration on the 15th Anniversary of the East Asia Summit. "All initiatives proposed by Việt Nam at the summits, as the ASEAN Chair 2020, were discussed, approved and warmly welcomed by ASEAN leaders and partners. Initiatives on establishing ASEAN COVID-19 Respond Fund, ASEAN Regional Reserve of Medical Supplies and ASEAN Regional Centre on Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases received donations from many countries," said Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyễn Quốc Dũng. Vietnamese PM Nguyễn Xuân Phúc said more than 20 meetings during the 37th ASEAN Summit discussed practical issues for nearly 630 million ASEAN citizens, focusing on COVID-19 response and economic recovery after the pandemic to realise the dual targets of pandemic prevention, control and production revitalisation, creating jobs for local people. The initiatives adopted realise the spirit of “not leaving anyone behind”, narrowing development gaps and integrating sub-Mekong region co-operation into regional collaboration. The signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) holds a significant meaning to not only ASEAN but also global trade, helping minimise impacts caused by global supply chain disruption, promote trade flow within ASEAN and between ASEAN and its partners, Phúc said. “ASEAN countries always welcome India’s return to the trade deal and will create favourable conditions for India if India wants to join. “After the signing, RCEP member countries will follow their internal process to ratify the deal,” PM Phúc told media at the press conference. – Viet Nam News
Minister denounces unfounded narrative on Ream Naval Base
Once again, Cambodia has denied the alleged presence of a foreign navy at Preah Sihanouk province’s Ream Naval Base, reacting against a US senior official who is said to have voiced concern over Cambodia’s plan to host a foreign military in its territory. In response to what he called an “unfounded allegation”, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Aun Pornmoniroth said at the 15th East Asia Summit via video conference on Saturday that the repeated allegation and spread of such a baseless narrative can gravely undermine trust and sow discord between Cambodia and other countries. The concern expressed came a few days ago after US think tank’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on November 9 published recent satellite imagery from Planet and Maxar, which revealed Cambodia had demolished another US-built facility at its largest naval base in the province. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement obtained yesterday quoted US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien as saying at the summit that the US was concerned about the Kingdom planning to host a foreign navy and its personnel at Ream Naval Base in the Gulf of Thailand. “The foreign naval presence in Cambodia would undermine the process of peaceful settlement of disputes, the promotion of maritime safety and security, freedom of navigation and overflight in the region,” O’Brien said. “Cambodia does not have and will never have any foreign military base on its territory,” Pornmoniroth said. “I want to reaffirm that the Royal Government of Cambodia firmly adheres to the principles of independence and neutrality enshrined in the Constitution of Cambodia, which strictly forbids the presence of any foreign military base on its soil. As an independent nation with full territorial integrity under the rule of a legitimate government and with equal rights as other nations in the region and around the world, Cambodia has the full and inalienable right to improve its naval base, port or shipping facilities to meet the needs of today in accordance with the country’s Constitution,” Pornmoniroth said. He added it is precisely for this reason that the Kingdom’s Maritime Centre at Ream Naval Base had to be relocated to a new site, but still within the same project area. – Khmer Times