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.
Stay informed with The ASEAN Post.
Covid-19 cluster concerns: See a doctor if you have a cough or cold, experts urge
If you have a cough, sore throat or runny nose, you should not think it is just the common flu. It could mean you have Covid-19, medical experts said on Tuesday (Jan 19). And now is not the time to avoid seeing a doctor and getting a medical certificate (MC) if you are unwell, added infectious disease specialist Dr Leong Hoe Nam. "Covid-19 is pictured as a virus that kills with severe pneumonia, but in the initial days of the illness it behaves like any cold virus," he said. His advice comes as a seventh case was added to the Covid-19 cluster linked to a police para-veterinarian. Four cases linked to this cluster did not seek medical treatment even though they fell ill with flu-like symptoms. Three of them were tested for Covid-19 only after being contacted by the Ministry of Health (MOH). Getting tested may mean getting a compulsory MC requiring one to stay at home till the result is out. But it will help to stop the spread of the coronavirus, said Dr Leong. "Early identification of infected individuals will
help save lives," he added. – The Straits Times
Malaysians: MCO necessary for our sake
They may not like it, but the people understand why the Movement Control Order (MCO) has been enforced in all states except Sarawak. In Perak, the people believed the MCO was unavoidable to bring down the soaring Covid-19 figures. However, they hope the authorities would give leeway to more businesses to operate. Mohd Hafizee Arop, 35, said the MCO was necessary because the overall daily infections rate had yet to drop. Hafizee, who runs a window tinting business, has accepted that his income will be affected. "I know that this decision (the reimplementation of the MCO) will have a massive impact on my income. However, I need to accept it as this is the best decision for the sake of everyone. "This will affect my business for several months. The first round of the MCO led to my business being closed for almost two months. "I hope this time around, the government will allow us to continue operating," said Hafizee, who has a shop in Silibin and in Station 18 here. – New Straits Times
B210bn hardship aid gets nod
The cabinet on Tuesday confirmed 210 billion baht of handouts to alleviate hardship caused by the recent Covid-19 outbreak. Under a new financial aid scheme known as "Rao Chana", the government will provide a total of 7,000 baht per person over two months to cover 31 million people affected by the pandemic. Registration has been scheduled for Jan 29-Feb 12 on www.เราชนะ.com. Two of the criteria used to screen applicants are their annual income and how much they have in their bank accounts. Those who are approved won't be paid cash, however -- the scheme uses a model similar to the co-payment subsidy programme known as "Khon La Khrueng", in which the money is transferred via the "Pao Tang" app and used to buy food, drinks and essential items. – Bangkok Post
Tokyo Olympics 'unlikely', says London 2012 official
The Tokyo Olympics look "unlikely" to go ahead as the coronavirus pandemic continues to paralyse large parts of the world, a senior official from the London 2012 Games has said. Keith Mills, who was deputy chairman of the London 2012 organising committee, said Tokyo officials should be making plans to cancel. Japanese and International Olympic Committee officials remain adamant the 2020 Games, already postponed for a year, will go ahead in July and August despite the ongoing health crisis. "Personally, sitting here, looking at the pandemic around the world, in South America, North America, Africa and Europe, it looks unlikely," Mills told the BBC. "If I were sitting in the shoes or the organisers, I would be making plans for a cancellation and I'm sure they do, but I think they will leave it absolutely the last minute in case the situation improves dramatically. "But it is a tough call." Tokyo and other parts of Japan are currently under a state of emergency to quash a surge in infections, and polls indicate that public support for the Olympics has plunged. But World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said he still thought the Games would go ahead. "I don't think it will be cancelled," Coe told Sky News. "It'll be a challenge, we know. It's pretty self-evident. There will be adaptations." "I think the Games will take place but they will look different," he added. – The Jakarta Post
Recovery at risk due to slow COVID vaccine plan
While multilateral lenders have committed to jack up loan financing so the Philippines can buy COVID-19 vaccines, the government’s procurement has been the slowest in the region so far such that economists worry that an economic rebound would also lag. The latest World Bank documents showed the Washington-based lender’s upcoming additional financing for the Philippines’ COVID-19 Emergency Response Project to be implemented by the Department of Health was raised to $400 million as of Jan. 16 from $300 million previously. As such, the total commitment across 14 loans in the World Bank’s near-term lending pipeline for the Philippines rose to $2.9 billion. Besides the World Bank loan for vaccine procurement and distribution, the Manila-based Asian Development Bank has also committed $325 million under its Asia-Pacific Vaccine Access Facility while the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is reviewing financing requests from member-countries, including the Philippines. – INQUIRER.net
Việt Nam among countries with highest cancer fatality rates globally
Việt Nam has been named among the countries worldwide with the highest rate of cancer fatalities and new cancer cases, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Statistics compiled by the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR), last year saw Việt Nam climb seven places to rank 92th out of 185 surveyed countries in terms of cancer rates. This comes following a period when number of cancer patients rose, with figure reaching 165,000 cases in 2018 compared to just 68,000 back in 2000, and 126,000 in 2010. Most notably, the five most common kinds of cancer typically occur in the lung, liver, stomach, rectum, and breast. – Viet Nam News
China vaccine due soon: First 300,000 doses to be delivered early next month
Cambodia will receive 300,000 out of the promised one million doses of China’s Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine early next month. This comes after Prime Minister Hun Sen announced his acceptance of a donation of the vaccines from China recently. The arrival of the Sinopharm vaccine will also see Mr Hun Sen taking the first dose to infuse confidence and trust in Cambodians that the vaccines are safe. He was quoted as saying: “I wish to announce that the first injection of the vaccine will be given to me. I must be on the front line, which has been my normal habit for decades.” – Khmer Times