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.
Further unease across Asia as Philippines, Cambodia report first cases of Omicron variant
The Philippines and Cambodia on Wednesday (Dec 15) reported their first cases of the Omicron variant, fuelling unease across Asia and further dimming hopes of a recovery as the new year approaches.
Health officials in Manila said they found two travellers - one from Japan who arrived on Dec 1 and another from Nigeria the day earlier - carrying the Omicron variant. Both were asymptomatic.
Cambodia's Health Ministry said it detected the variant in a 23-year-old woman who returned from Ghana, via Dubai and Bangkok. She was 15 weeks pregnant. - Straits Times
Second Omicron case detected in Malaysia
A second Covid-19 Omicron variant case has been detected in Malaysia.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the case involves an eight-year-old Malaysian girl, who arrived from Lagos, Nigeria with her mother and sister, who tested positive for Covid-19 on Dec 7.
The girl, who was asymptomatic, is currently undergoing isolation and quarantine at home. - New Straits Times
NY planning begins
The country's major tourist cities -- Bangkok, Pattaya in Chon Buri, Phuket and Chiang Mai -- are in planning mode for New Year festivities after the government further relaxed Covid-19 control measures, including extending the alcohol serving time to 1am on New Year's Eve.
The rule relaxation by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) was welcomed by tourism operators and other businesses in these major tourist destinations.
Pattaya City is organising New Year's celebrations from Dec 29-31 at its iconic Bali Hai Pier where popular artists will entertain the nighttime crowds, said Sonthaya Khunpluem, the city mayor. - Bangkok Post
Hotels see 2022 as 'good recovery' year
Hotels are seeing 2022 as a "good recovery" year after observing a rise in the confidence level to travel among Filipinos.
"[E]ven if we continue to stay at alert level two, 2022 should really be a good recovery year, not quite the pre-pandemic days but definitely much much better than 2021," Philippine Hotel Owners Association, Inc. (PHOA) board of director and vice president for SM Hotels and Conventions Corporation Ma. Luisa Angeles said in a recent presser.
Recovery to pre-pandemic levels, however, could still take about three to four years or at least until after global air traffic returns to 2019 levels, according to PHOA President Arthur Lopez. - Philippine News Agency
UNFPA presents medical supplies worth US$450,000 to aid Vietnam’s COVID-19 response
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam on Wednesday handed over medical supplies and personal protective equipment worth US$450,000 to 21 Vietnamese localities, including Hanoi and HCM City, to aid them in the COVID-19 combat.
The beneficiaries include health workers, volunteers and other forces in the fight, who are working to protect pregnant women, the elderly and girls against domestic violence.
Naomi Kitahara, UNFPA Representative in Vietnam, said the pandemic had become a disaster for women and children who are also facing violence and discrimination. - Vietnam News
No lockdown after first Omicron C-19 case recorded in Kingdom
The government has not ordered a lockdown despite the fact that Cambodia detected one case of the new Omicron Covid-19 Variant of Concern on Tuesday, citing that the lowest daily report of positive cases since the February 20 Community Event was also recorded the same day.
Prime Minister Hun Sen also announced that a new vaccine campaign will begin in January next year to administer booster shots to youth aged 12 to 17-years-old.
He cautioned people to stay calm and not panic now that the new Omicron variant had been found in Cambodia. - Khmer Times
Fighting erupts in rebel-controlled town where anti-coup activists fled to avoid arrest
Fighting broke out on Wednesday morning between Myanmar army troops and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) in the Karen State town of Lay Kay Kaw, local sources and media said.
Residents of the rebel-held Myawaddy District town told the Karen Information Centre (KIC) that the junta’s forces fired around 20 heavy artillery shells into an area where they assumed members of the People’s Defence Force (PDF) were stationed.
There were shootouts between the two sides in at least three places and there were still clashes at the time of reporting, the KIC reported. - Myanmar NOW
Indonesia among countries with low COVID transmission risk: ministry
Indonesia has become one of the countries with a low risk of COVID-19 transmission, spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccinations for the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, has said.
"The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that Indonesia is included as a country with a low risk of COVID-19 transmission, namely a country with a level one transmission risk," she informed at a press conference accessed online here on Wednesday.
The CDC releases recommendations for travel destinations based on the level of COVID-19 risk, which is divided into level one, level two, level three, level four, and level unknown, she said. - AntaraNews.Com