These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Ngee Ann Poly to sack lecturer in racist remark incident for serious misconduct
Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) is in the process of terminating the employment of senior lecturer Tan Boon Lee. This comes after a video of Mr Tan making racist remarks to an interracial couple in Orchard Road went viral online. This was followed by an Instagram post by NP alumna Nurul Fatimah Iskandar, who alleged that Mr Tan made Islamophobic comments in a class in 2017. NP said it made the decision after completing its internal investigations into both incidents, and has charged Mr Tan with a serious breach of its staff code of conduct. "Our staff members are expected to respect cultural, ethnic and religious differences in our society. They must uphold secularity and impartiality at all times... The disciplinary action meted out against the staff in question reflects our commitment to provide a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for our campus community," said NP in a statement on Thursday (June 17). Police investigations into both incidents are ongoing. – The Straits Times
Bursa Malaysia to remain choppy: HLIB Research
Bursa Malaysia's benchmark FBM KLCI will likely remain choppy today as investors digest the impact of extension of the full Movement Control Order (FMCO) to the economy and corporate earnings outlook, said Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB). The firms believe a recovery could be an eventuality, with more hawkish stance by the US Federal Reserve post-Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and the timing of Parliament reopening to allow lawmakers to debate the Emergency Ordinance and the National Recovery Plan (NRP). "There is light at the end of the tunnel with downside risk is cushioned near 1,550 zones, as the structured NRP with objective thresholds should help control the Covid-19 pandemic in a more sustainable matter, particularly the acceleration of the nationwide vaccination programme with full vaccination rates to 40 per cent target by September/October and 60 per cent by November/December," HLIB said in a report today. It added that investors were weighing on the NRP and awaiting the outcome of the Malay rulers' special meeting and FOMC discussion. FBM KLCI eased 3.1 points to 1,578.3 after hovering in a tight range band at 1,576.5-1,585 yesterday. HLIB said investors were cautious as 668 losers thumped 349 gainers with a total of 4.7 billion shares (-1.2 billion shares on June 15) transacted valued at RM3.1 billion (-RM0.5 billion vs June 15). – New Straits Times
Delta variant likely to be dominant
The Medical Sciences Department (MSD) on Wednesday warned that the Delta variant of Covid-19 first identified in India may become a dominant strain in the country during the next two to three months because of the increased number of infections with this variant. The warning was issued by MSD director-general Supakit Sirirak who asked the public to comply with measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 disease and get vaccinated as quickly as possible. Speaking during a press briefing, Dr Supakit said the MSD was concerned over an increased number of infections with the Delta variant of Covid-19, saying 137 more Covid-19 patients with this variant have been detected this week in nine more provinces, except in the South. Of them, 86 Covid-19 patients with this strain were detected in Bangkok, followed by 28 cases in Pathum Thani, eight in Nakhon Nayok, three in Sakon Nakhon, two in Phayao and Ubon Ratchathani, and one each in Chiang Rai, Phetchabun, Chon Buri, Chantaburi, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Loei and Buri Ram, he said. However since testing for this variant began earlier this month, a total of 496 Covid-19 patients with this variant were found in 20 provinces. Bangkok alone had 404 cases, he said. Dr Supakit said the Alpha variant of Covid-19 first identified in the United Kingdom was still the country's major variant, with 89.6% of all infections. "We see that there is a sign of increasing infections with the new variant (Delta) that is now under the globe's top concerns due to its 40% faster rate of infections, compared with the Alpha variant," he said. "The lab results show infections this week climbed up to 9%, compared with 8% last week. "So, we need to follow the (Delta variant) cases closely and carefully. If the number of infections keeps going high, we will need to take some action against the cases, including a policy around the length of time for getting a second shot. "We are now in the process to test the level of body immunity after getting the vaccine for backing up the decision." Dr Supakit went on to say that most infected people were closely associated with workers living in construction site camps, where the first Delta variant case was detected in the country. These people moved from one place to another while carrying the virus. Apart from construction site camps, he said the MSD detected 10 Covid-19 patients with this Delta variant at three hospitals in Bangkok. Meanwhile, two more new Covid-19 patients with the Beta variant first identified in South Africa were found in Narathiwat this week. But from April to June, the MSD found 26 cases with the Beta variant in Tak Bai district of Narathiwat, he said. – Bangkok Post
Dengue cases, deaths declining significantly in 2021 – DOH
The number of dengue cases and deaths dropped significantly in the first four months of 2021 compared to the same period last year as health authorities continue to intensify measures against the illness amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an official from the Department of Health (DOH) said Thursday. Aileen Espiritu, Program Manager of the DOH’s National Aedes-borne Viral Disease Prevention and Control Program, said that there were only 21,478 cases of dengue from January to April 17, or a 56 percent decrease from the 49,135 cases reported from the same period in 2020. Meanwhile, there were only 80 deaths for the same period this year, 55 percent lower than the 179 deaths from last year. “For 2021, as of morbidity week 15, that is until April 17 of this year, we remain hopeful that the decrease in cases will continue, and of course this must be partnered with an integrated vector control management and other prevention activities,” Espiritu said during an online media forum. Espiritu noted that dengue cases and mortalities have “greatly fluctuated” starting 2018, but cases started to increase in August 2019 when a national dengue epidemic was declared in the country over a spike in morbidities. In 2018, there were a total of 216,190 reported dengue cases and 1,083 deaths, while in 2019, there were 437,563 reported cases and 1,689 deaths. Last year, there were a total of 83,335 dengue cases and 324 deaths. Espiritu noted that the number of cases for 2020 was 81 percent lower than in 2019. “This may be attributed to the implementation of the enhanced 4S strategy… that has been strengthened in every household especially when we are placed under community quarantine, wherein most of the people stayed at home which could have also led to a better water sanitation hygiene or wash practices, thus decreasing the mosquito breeding grounds,” she explained. The 4s strategy of the DOH is the following: search and destroy mosquito-breeding sites; secure self-protection measures like wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts and daily use of mosquito repellent; seek early consultation, and support fogging or spraying only in hotspot areas where increase in cases is registered for two consecutive weeks to prevent an outbreak. Meanwhile, the case fatality rate for dengue was 0.50 in 2018, 0.37 in 2019, 0.39 in 2020, and 0.37 so far in 2021. Case fatality rate is computed by getting the percentage of deaths from the total number of cases. “We were able to achieve our target of maintaining the case fatality rate of dengue at less than 1 percent,” said Espiritu. “However, we recognize that we fell short in meeting the second condition or criteria of the target which is to reduce the case fatality rate by 0.1 percent annually. Hence, we deem that we need to review and update the dengue clinical case management in order to fully obtain the annual target,” she added. – INQUIRER.net
Additional 6 million doses of AstraZeneca, Pfizer vaccines to arrive in Viet Nam in Q3
Six million more doses of COVID-19 vaccines – half from the UK’s AstraZeneca and half from the US’s Pfizer – will arrive in Viet Nam in the third quarter of this year, the Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday. Viet Nam will receive about 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine via the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility sometime between late June and early July, said Prof. Dang Duc Anh, Director of the National Institute of Epidemiology and Hygiene (NIHE). The vaccine will be offered to industrial park workers and priority groups detailed in the Government’s Decree 21, including frontline workers, diplomats, customs officers and teachers, among others. Another shipment of 2 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines, imported by the Ministry of Health from the UK-based pharmaceutical company through the Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC), is due to arrive in the country by the end of September. Meanwhile, Pfizer announced it will ship 3 million coronavirus vaccines to Viet Nam within the third quarter. It, however, also noted that the time of shipment and the number of doses provided to Viet Nam may be subject to change. Anh said COVAX-supplied vaccines have been distributed to 63 cities and provinces and several units of the ministries of National Defence and Public Security. More than 200,000 doses have been delivered to the pandemic-hit provinces of Bac Ninh and Bac Giang to give to industrial park workers. Viet Nam has been accelerating its COVID-19 vaccine vaccination efforts. The country hopes to secure about 150 million doses this year to inoculate at least 70-80 per cent of its population to achieve herd immunity. So far, the country has received nearly 2.9 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from four shipments. – Viet Nam News
PP governor orders strict factory measures to prevent outbreaks
The governor of Phnom Penh yesterday unveiled a plan to control the spread of Covid-19 in factories and enterprises in Phnom Penh. Governor Khuong Sreng said that despite the situation of the Covid-19 epidemic, almost all the business activities of the factories and enterprises are still operating normally and only a few factories have been suspended. As of the first quarter of 2021, there were 746 open factories and 4,985 small-scale handicraft industries in Phnom Penh, creating 476,359 direct jobs. Sreng added that the main cause of the outbreak for factory workers came from the Tctors include transportation carrying employees and workers who do not work in the same factory, buying food from unregulated outlets and not following the Ministry of Health guidelines. In order to prevent transmission of the disease, Phnom Penh City Hall has determined necessary measures to prevent and stop the spread of Covid-19 in factories in Phnom Penh. He urged the implementation of a “National Vaccination Campaign” for staff and workers, to set up lounges and dining areas with strict barriers and separate from the building, improved cleaning and sanitation of the work environment and spraying alcohol disinfectant regularly. He also warned factories not to allow the sale of food, beverages, consumables or other food items that are not orderly, both inside and around the factory location, except for the factory-enterprise food sales service. He said that exceptions would only be businesses who contact the factory and get permission to arrange a safe selling environment. All factories and enterprises must cooperate with local authorities to establish public order around their factory locations, without allowing unregulated selling of food, groceries and all kinds of consumables. “A lack of order causes insecurity, traffic congestion and unsanitary conditions. The workers’ diet should be implemented in the workplace organised by factories,” Sreng said. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry announced yesterday that the speed of administering vaccinations against Covid-19 is faster than expected. Ministry of Health spokeswoman Or Vandine said that the reason for the faster pace of vaccinations was due to the number of vaccines that Cambodia had ordered from China and the rapid delivery of aid from China. Vandine added that the teams of doctors, both civilian and military, were ready to give the full number of vaccines to the people. “I think our vaccination campaign, which the Cambodian government has a clear plan in place to target 10 million people over the age of 18, could be completed this year,” she said. – Khmer Times
Former head of Covid-19 vaccine rollout charged with high treason
In the days after the military plunged Myanmar into chaos by staging a coup, Dr Htar Htar Lin was getting ready to join healthcare workers across the country in the growing Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). As the head of the country’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout she was a high-profile figure, and she hoped her act of defiance would encourage others to stand up against the new regime. But before she announced her decision and went into hiding on February 7, there was the matter of 161m kyat (roughly $100,000) allocated for the immunisation effort sitting in a government account to deal with. If the money fell into the hands of the junta, it would counter efforts by activists to choke off its sources of funding. So, she set about distributing the funds to local health departments across the country, according to a colleague, who added that whatever she couldn’t distribute she returned to donors. "She even helped grassroots staff who vaccinated people get the money,” they added. “She also tried to prevent middlemen from taking the money meant for the grassroots staff.” Since then, she has been one of the regime’s most wanted people; she was among the first doctors hit with an arrest warrant in the wake of the coup. Last week, she was caught and detained while meeting a friend, another doctor, on Nawaday street in downtown Yangon. The junta’s forces later raided her home and seized phones, computers and other devices. They also detained her husband and made him sign a pledge at the Dagon Township Police Station. He was then released, but within two hours authorities returned to his home and took him, the couple’s seven-year-old son, and the family pet. "Her husband, their child and their dog were taken," said a friend of Htar Htar Lin’s. The family’s current whereabouts are unknown. Htar Htar Lin is among 25 doctors who have been charged with high treason, colluding with an illegal organisation, and incitement, the junta’s Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said on Monday. The report said Htar Htar Lin had failed to clear the 161m kyat balance before going on strike. Twenty-two of the doctors to be charged have so far evaded arrest, the report said. Another two doctors involved in the movement to topple the junta were arrested in Mandalay on Sunday. They are Dr Maung Maung Nyein Tun, a professor at Mandalay Medical University, and his wife Dr Swe Zin Oo from Mandalay General Hospital. The couple were detained after a fellow doctor informed the military of their whereabouts, according to a colleague of theirs. “They were arrested at a house they were staying in temporarily during their attempt to escape,” the colleague said. “I heard that an assistant doctor at a 300-bed hospital informed the military about them. That assistant doctor is non-CDM.” After the arrests, the Global New Light published a picture of Maung Maung Nyein Tun with bruises on his face. “The doctor was tortured,” said the colleague. The newspaper said that Htar Htar Lin led the Public Health Team on behalf of Dr Zaw Wai Soe, the health minister for the underground National Unity Government (NUG). The junta has branded the NUG a terrorist organisation. – Myanmar NOW
Govt assures of free COVID-19 vaccines for all
The Indonesian government has assured it will provide COVID-19 shots to all citizens for free, Health Ministry's spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccination Siti Nadia Tarmizi said. "We need to clarify perception on the Health Minister Regulation No. 18/2021, that added a regulation regarding the Gotong Royong (mutual cooperation) vaccination and the government's vaccination program," she said during a dialogue on the Gotong Royong vaccination here on Wednesday. The Gotong Royong vaccination program was launched on May 18 this year. The program was initiated by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) to support the national vaccination program. Both programs are providing different vaccines for free, Tarmizi said adding, the Gotong Royong vaccines will be funded by companies for their employees. "It (Gotong Royong) is aimed at expanding the COVID-19 vaccination coverage. The government's vaccination program and the Gotong Royong program will not use the same vaccines. Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Novavac, and Pfizer cannot be used in the Gotong Royong (vaccination) program," she elaborated. Sinopharm and Cansino vaccines will be provided under the Gotong Royong program, Tarmizi said. However, the same vaccine can be used for both programs if obtained through a grant as in the case of about 500 thousand doses of the Sinopharm vaccine donated to Indonesia by the United Arab Emirates recently, she clarified. "Although the Sinopharm vaccine is already being used in the Gotong Royong program, it can also be used in the government's vaccination program because we obtained it as a grant," she added. According to chairman of the Indonesia Health Economic Association, Hasbullah Thabrany, the Gotong Royong program would help KADIN members to expand vaccination coverage for workers and recover productivity. "The challenge now is to meet vaccine demand for 28 thousand companies registered (for vaccination) through KADIN," said deputy chairman for international relations at KADIN, Shinta Widjaja Kamdani. State-run vaccine maker Bio Farma has pledged about 15 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine for the Gotong Royong vaccination program. – AntaraNews.Com