These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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SMRT to change entire taxi fleet to electric vehicles in 5 years
SMRT aims to change all its taxis to 100 per cent electric vehicles within five years as part of efforts to go green. The first batch of 300 electric taxis will arrive progressively in Singapore from July, the transport operator announced in a statement on Tuesday (April 20). The electric vehicles could include sedans, station wagons and multi-purpose vehicles. SMRT has 1,796 taxis in its fleet, according to the Land Transport Authority in February. SMRT said: "The electrification of the entire taxi fleet is part of SMRT's growth strategy in green businesses under its sustainable urban mobility services arm, Strides Mobility." Besides taxis, other mobility services using electric vehicles such as vans, limousines and buses will also be rolled out. SMRT's transition to cleaner-energy taxis began in 2013, when more than 600 Toyota Prius Hybrid cabs were added to its fleet. Last year, SMRT's fleet became 100 per cent hybrid. SMRT Road Holdings president Tan Kian Heong said: "In line with Singapore's Green Plan, we are excited to be among the first point-to-point transport operators to commit to the deployment of electric taxis on a large scale. "This is a key part of our plan to incorporate principles of sustainability into each of our businesses to bring sustainable urban mobility services to our customers. Going green is an integral part of how we operate our business." On Monday, SMRT-owned Strides Transportation also signed a memorandum of understanding with electric motorcycle-maker EuroSports Technologies. Strides will be appointed as the sole distributor of commercial electric motorcycles in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific. This range of two- and three-wheelers will be separate from EuroSports' Scorpio brand of premium electric motorbikes. It will be targeted for food delivery and logistics applications. – The Straits Times
Covid-19: Education Department orders 19 schools in Petaling district closed
Nineteen schools in the Petaling district in Selangor have been ordered to close starting today as a precautionary measure to make way for sanitisation, disinfection and for close contact tracing exercises. In a circular issued by the Petaling District Education Department sighted by the New Straits Times tonight, the department had ordered the indefinite closure of the 19 schools in accordance with Section 18(1)(1)(d) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342). Among the schools affected are SAM Bestari Subang with four confirmed cases since April 16; SMK Bukit Jelutong; SK Puchong Perdana; SK and SMK Bandar Baru Sri Damansara 2; SK Bukit Kuchai; SJKC Yuk Chai; SMK USJ20 (two cases since April 18); SMK Damansara Jaya; SMK Puchong Utama 1 (four cases since April 18); SMK Seksyen 4 Bandar Kinrara; SMK Bandar Puncak Jalil; and, SMK USJ 23 (two cases since April 18). The circular stated that the schools' reopening date has yet to be fixed. – New Straits Times
'Recover at home' virus plan
The Public Health Ministry has reacted to the spike in Covid-19 infections by drawing up a plan to allow patients with less serious symptoms to self-quarantine at home to save hospital beds for the most serious cases. Under the home isolation plan unveiled yesterday, hospitals may consider allowing Covid-19 patients with no symptoms to recover at home, albeit with a number of conditions. Hospitals will be required to follow a set of criteria when considering Covid-19 patients to self-quarantine – it is only recommended if the patients do not develop other symptoms and they would be required to self-quarantine for a full month. The contingency plan is in response to growing concerns that hospital beds are filling up fast in the current third wave of the pandemic, and that swift action must be taken in case the situation worsens. The Public Health Ministry was quick to point out last night that even though the home isolation system was under consideration, it is not yet necessary because about 3,000 beds were still available. So, it will not be implemented this time. Department of Medical Services (DMS) director-general Somsak Akksilp said fears over the current situation related more to long waits for hospital beds rather than a shortage of beds and said coordinated efforts were already being made to address the issue. Dr Somsak said hospitalisation was still compulsory for all Covid-19 patients but that mild and asymptomatic cases, known as "Green" cases, could be sent to field hospitals and so-called "hospitels". "We're making preparations for the home isolation programme but it is not yet implemented," he said. He said all hospitals under the ministry's supervision were being instructed to set aside ICU beds as more severe cases were anticipated this week. The DMS is working closely with medical schools in the management of ICU beds. "We have a total of 9,317 beds, an increase from 6,000-7,000 beds. About 3,000 beds are still available," he said. Dr Somsak said work is also under way to increase the number of Covid-19 patient transport vehicles across the country to 100, noting that the limited capacity to transport infected patients had also contributed to long waits over the past week. Suksan Kittisupakorn, director of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's Medical Service Department, said it had 2,756 beds to accommodate Covid-19 patients and nearly 3,000 more beds were being added. Under the home isolation plan, Covid-19 patients must be asymptomatic, under 40 years old and not be categorised as obese and/or have other underlying health problems, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, coronary artery disease, stroke, or other diseases that doctors rule as unsafe for self-care at home. They must also provide consent to home isolation and, if they live in condominium units or dormitories, the building supervisors must also grant permission. Hospitals would be required to check on those patients on a regular basis for 14 days and hospitalise them if their symptoms deteriorate. Move Forward Party MP Wayo Asvarungruang on Monday expressed his support for the home isolation plan, but called on the government to do more to educate the public about it. – Bangkok Post
Thousands flee as Typhoon Bising slams eastern PH provinces
Typhoon Bising (international name: Surigae), the first typhoon to hit the country this year, lashed at provinces in the Bicol and Eastern Visayas regions and even as far as the Caraga region in north eastern Mindanao, forcing tens of thousands to evacuate. While its eye remained at a good distance from Luzon island, its outer rain bands brought strong rain and gusts to the eastern portion of the country on Sunday and Monday. On Tuesday, moderate to heavy rains are still expected over the Bicol region and Northern Samar province, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Monday. The downpour from the typhoon is also expected over the northern portion of Aurora province and the eastern portions of mainland Cagayan and Isabela toward the north of Luzon. Bising maintained its strength on Monday as it slowly moved over the Philippine Sea, east of the archipelago. As of 4 p.m. Monday, the centre of its eye was located 500 kilometres east of Infanta in Quezon province. It packed winds of 195 km per hour near the centre and gusts of up to 240 kph. According to Pagasa, the typhoon is expected to linger inside the Philippine territory for the rest of the week, but is forecast to gradually lose its strength. Forecasters say Bising will move generally northward or north-north-westward until Wednesday evening or early Thursday. It is expected to recurve afterward and move away from the Luzon landmass. Reports as of Monday afternoon showed at least two typhoon-related fatalities in the Visayas. A 79-year-old man in Southern Leyte and a 47-year-old woman in northern Cebu died on Sunday after they were hit by coconut trees toppled by strong winds. In Northern Samar, 1,581 families consisting of 5,667 people from 14 towns were evacuated, while in Eastern Samar, 715 families comprising 2,667 people were taken to safer ground amid the threat of flooding since Sunday. In Samar, 272 families (1,045 people) from the capital Catbalogan City and two neighbouring towns were also evacuated, while in Biliran province, 210 families (739 people) from the towns of Cabucgayan, Culaba and the provincial capital of Naval were taken to evacuation centres. At least 101 families (276 people) from six towns in Leyte were also evacuated. In the provincial capital of Tacloban, 45 families (274 people) were taken to evacuation centres by city government personnel. In the Bicol region, moderate to heavy rain prompted 15,852 families (57,793 people) to flee to evacuation centres. – INQUIRER.net
110,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses intended for police and army diverted to local CDCs: Health ministry
The Vietnamese health ministry has announced the decision to divert 110,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, originally meant for police and army personnel, to local centres for disease control (CDCs) instead. These are among the 811,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines that Viet Nam received via COVAX Facility, the global COVID-19 vaccine sharing scheme, on April 1, adding to the 111,000 doses bought from the company that had been used in the first-phase of the inoculation drive. Two weeks ago, the distribution plan in the second-phase of inoculation using COVAX doses was announced, but it has been revised. Regarding the total 80,000 vaccine doses previously destined for the army, the army would now get 35,000 doses. 34,500 doses will go to 44 local CDCs – 15,400 for the northern region, 8,200 for the central region, 3,450 for the Central Highlands region, and 7,250 for the southern region. 10,650 doses will be supplemented to five southern provinces and cities in the southwestern border – An Giang (2,200), Tay Ninh (2,250), Kien Giang (2,200), Dong Thap (2,000) and Long An (2,000) – likely to protect frontline and essential workers and high-risks groups against the serious spike in coronavirus infections in neighbouring countries including Thailand and Cambodia. The 30,000 doses previously intended for the police forces will instead go to 62 local CDCs (except for Hai Duong Province in the north, the epicentre of the country’s third wave of infections lasting from late January until late March, which received 43,000 doses). Provincial and municipal CDCs will report to their respective health department and coordinate with the provincial and municipal public security agencies to decide the number of public security personnel that would receive the jabs. With this addition, Ha Noi and HCM City, the two biggest urban centres in the country, still have been allocated the most doses. 49 provinces and cities out of the total 63 have received the doses in the second-phase distribution, and the remaining 14 would soon receive their share. The doses provided by COVAX will expire by the end of the May, and the health minister is urging faster administration of vaccines for priority groups and localities must use all of their allocated doses by May 5 or the unused doses would be redistributed. Eligible people for COVID-19 vaccine are those within the 10 priority groups detailed in the Government’s Decree 21, which are frontline workers (medical workers, COVID-19 steering committees, police and military forces directly involved in the fight against the pandemic); Vietnamese diplomats and relatives sent on overseas missions and diplomatic delegations and UN representative offices in Viet Nam; customs, exit and entry officers; essential service workers (utility, airlines, transport, tourism, etc.); teachers and education institution’s staff or those working at front-facing administrative offices; people with chronic diseases; the elderly (above 65 years old); people in COVID-19-hit outbreak areas; poor people and social welfare beneficiaries; people authorised by the State to work or study overseas. – Viet Nam News
Crackdown on people-smuggling across provinces
Police in Ratanakiri province on Saturday arrested four people, including two hospital staff members and two passengers, accused of smuggling people from Phnom Penh, violating the government’s inter-provincial travel ban. Banlung city police deputy chief Major Kong Chamroeun identified the accused as Nhim Kuoth, 38, and Bean Pok, 33, both Preah Kossamak Hospital staff, as well as Buth Bunreaksa, 39, and Kheang Channy, 61, who both live in Banlung city’s Laban Siek commune. Maj Chamroeun said that at around midnight on Saturday, Kuoth and Pok drove an ambulance transporting Channy and Bunreaksa from Phnom Penh to Ratanakiri province and arrived at a district police checkpoint in Balung district. He said police stopped the ambulance and arrested all of them for violating the government’s inter-provincial travel ban. He added that after their arrests, police seized the ambulance and sent them to quarantine for 14 days at Koun Mom district health centre. “During police interrogations, the two hospital staff members admitted committing the offence, saying that they were paid $600 by the two passengers to transport them from Phnom Penh to their homes in Ratanakiri province,” Maj Chamroeun told Khmer Times. “The two passengers confessed that they paid the two hospital staff members because they wanted to return their homes and meet with their families. They said that the two health officers guaranteed that they could bring them homes safely,” he said. They are accused of two counts of “violating the government’s inter-provincial travel ban and obstruction of implementation of measures” of the Law on Measures to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 and other Deadly and Serious Infectious Diseases, he added, and face up to five years in prison each if convicted. Maj Chamroeun said they will be sent to the provincial court for questioning after they have completed 14 days of quarantine at the district health centre. In a separate case, police in Svay Rieng province arrested the publisher of an online newspaper yesterday, accused of smuggling two labourers, who had just returned from South Korea, from Phnom Penh to Svay Rieng province, violating the inter-provincial travel ban. Svay Rieng provincial deputy police chief Lieutenant Colonel Hong Seng told Khmer Times that according to the suspect’s answers, on the day of his arrest, he was hired by the two men, who had just finished their 14-day-stay at a quarantine centre in Phnom Penh, for $350 to transport them to Svay Rieng province in his car. Lt Col Hong Seng said the suspect was arrested at 3pm yesterday, after being caught in Svay Rieng province’s Svay Chroum district. He said that after his arrest, police seized his car and his press card from him as well as also arresting the two men. They are accused of two counts of “violating the government’s inter-provincial travel ban and obstruction of implementation of measures” of the Law on Measures to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 and other Deadly and Serious Infectious Diseases, he added, and are still being temporarily detained at the provincial police headquarters. Lt Col Hong Seng said that they will be sent to the provincial court for questioning tomorrow. – Khmer Times
Nearly a third of garment industry jobs wiped out by coup
Around 200,000 workers in Myanmar’s garment industry have lost their jobs since the military seized power on February 1, according to a leading workers’ rights advocate. “The famous brands in the garment sector have pulled out” since the coup, said labour rights activist Ye Naing Win, noting that fashion retailers H&M and Next have both withdrawn from the country amid tightening sanctions by the European Union, the main market for Myanmar’s textile exports. The industry, which had already shed around 200,000 jobs due to Covid-19, employed at least 700,000 people before the pandemic was declared in March of last year, according to Ye Naing Win. “There were also employment problems caused by Covid-19, so there have been many negative impacts,” he said, estimating that roughly half the garment factories in the country were no longer in operation. Brutal crackdowns on anti-coup protests and the imposition of martial law in Yangon’s industrial suburbs have also taken a toll, he added, as many workers fearing for their safety have returned to their hometowns. Even those who have opted to stay behind rather than face unemployment are struggling because most factories are operating at less than full capacity. “We really can’t see any future right now, so it’s difficult to know what to say,” said Suu Pone Chit, a garment worker who has been scraping by on basic wages without overtime pay since losing her old job due to the pandemic. “All we can do is try to make ends meet,” she added when asked how the coup had affected her situation. Hardly any industry has gone untouched by the upheaval triggered by the military takeover two and a half months ago. Many of Yangon’s 300,000 construction workers are now out of work due to the suspension of major building projects, and millions of others in the private sector, from general labourers to white-collar workers, are also facing job insecurity. Even industries that have thrived during the pandemic in other countries are struggling due to the regime’s shutdown of mobile internet connections. Companies that provide internet-based services, such as Shop.com, Food Panda, and Grab, have all stopped operating. Some businesses have tried to keep workers on their payrolls to retain skilled staff, but they are cutting back now, too, according to a 30-year-old worker in the IT sector who asked not to be named. “There is absolutely no certainty now,” she said, noting that even job agencies are no longer offering their services in the current environment. “This situation is so much worse than the situation under Covid,” she said. Meanwhile, public-sector employees and banking staff taking part in the Civil Disobedience Movement have also had to forego their incomes in order to continue putting pressure on the military to give up power. The last time Myanmar was in a comparable situation was during the nationwide pro-democracy uprising of 1988. However, at that time, the country’s socialist economy was already largely cut off from the outside world. These days, the country is more dependent on trade and foreign investment and thus more susceptible to the effects of international isolation, said Ye Naing Win. This affects not only businesses, he said, but also those who work for them. “Unemployment means that people will have to struggle just to survive,” he said. – Myanmar NOW
Iran praises Indonesia's stand on nuclear deal
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has lauded Indonesia’s stance on maintaining the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and implementing the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2231. He conveyed the praise during a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart, Retno Marsudi, in Jakarta on Monday, as part of his Indonesian visit, which he described as "Ramadhan Diplomacy". Meanwhile, Marsudi expressed her appreciation of the growing friendship between the two nations, particularly in the economic field, and expressed the hope that they would further improve business relations through the Iran-Indonesia Joint Business Commission and agreements that are currently under negotiation. During their meeting, the two foreign ministers exchanged views on the latest developments in the peace process in Afghanistan and expressed support for international law. At the meeting, Zarif called attention to the 70 years of friendship between Iran and Indonesia and praised Jakarta for its push to maintain the JCPOA at the UN Security Council, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a written statement. Expressing happiness at the improved trade relations between the two nations, Zarif referred to the large capacity for bilateral business relations and highlighted the significance of accelerating the conclusion of the preferential trade agreement between the two countries. He also conveyed Iran's preparedness to continue negotiations on the issue. At the meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Austria in early March this year, Indonesia had urged the United States to return to the negotiating table to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue, in accordance with the commitments contained in the JCPOA. It also asked the US and Iran to cooperate with the IAEA to fulfill their obligations under the JCPOA. During the meeting, Indonesian Permanent Representative to Austria and the UN, Darmansjah Djumala, expressed concern over the US pullout of the JCPOA and the re-imposition of unilateral sanctions on Iran, according to a written statement issued by the Indonesian Embassy in Vienna. Indonesia also welcomed positive signals from the US government to get involved again in the JCPOA through a multilateral forum, it added. – AntaraNews.Com