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.
Decision to lift Singapore-Malaysia VTL suspension to be made 2 days before Jan 20: Malaysian minister
The fate of the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) for air and land between Malaysia and Singapore will be decided at least 48 hours before Jan 20 next year when the temporary suspension of the scheme is expected to end.
Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said the decision on whether the temporary suspension would continue or the VTL-Air and VTL-Land will continue operating depended on the current situation then.
"It is still too early to tell as there is another three weeks or so until then. - Straits Times
Over six million booster shots administered
More than six million people in the country have received their Covid-19 booster shots so far.
According to data from CovidNow, as of Dec 30 midnight, 6,109,673 Covid-19 booster shots have been administered with 197,121 dispensed yesterday.
Meanwhile, out of the total population, 25,609,301 people have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 while 385,713 were partially vaccinated. - New Straits Times
Omicron infections reach 934 as local cases rise
The number of Omicron infections reached 934 as of Wednesday, most of which were new arrivals from abroad, the Ministry of Public Health said on Thursday.
Dr Supakit Sirilak, director-general of the Department of Medical Sciences, said that between Nov 1 when the country reopened and Wednesday, Thailand logged a total of 934 Omicron cases. Of them, 577 or 62% were arrivals from abroad and 357 or 38% were local transmissions. On Wednesday alone, Omicron cases surged to 194. Eighty-eight of them were arrivals from overseas and 106 were local transmissions, he said.
Dr Supakit said the number of local transmissions now tends to be higher than infections detected among arrivals from abroad as international travel to Thailand begins to slow down. - Bangkok Post
Baguio to welcome New Year with community fireworks display
The city government has organized a community fireworks display to greet the New Year to discourage the use of firecrackers among the public.
City Information Office chief Aileen Refuerzo, in a phone interview on Friday, said the fireworks display and picnic at Burnham Park are among the two city-initiated activities for the holiday season.
The fireworks display will start at 9 p.m. until midnight. - Philippine News Agency
Enterprises urged to give priority to supplying oxygen for medical facilities
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has urged oxygen suppliers to prioritise medical facilities in the southwestern region and HCM City as many are struggling with supplies.
According to preliminary statistics, southern provinces need about 400 tonnes of oxygen per day on average with HCM City needing more than 100 tonnes and other provinces about 50 tonnes each.
Nguyen Van Thanh, director of the ministry’s Department of Chemicals called on enterprises to arrange about 500 tonnes of oxygen daily for medical purposes. - Vietnam News
No omicron lockdown: Ministry says high vaccination rate and preventive measures are enough
Despite detecting almost 50 cases of the Omicron variant so far, the government will not impose a lockdown or work from home precaution like in neighbouring Thailand.
This is because of the high vaccination rate achieved since the fight against Covid-19 began.
Ministry of Health spokesman Hok Kimcheng told Khmer Times yesterday that the Kingdom has nearly reached the herd immunity goal as almost 15 million people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 and its variants. Hence the government won’t impose a lockdown or other measures besides following and practicing existing preventive measures more cautiously. - Khmer Times
NLD leaders, student activists receive prison sentences in year-end blitz
Myanmar’s military junta has ended the year by sentencing many of its opponents to lengthy prison terms, signalling its determination to hold onto power as its rule approaches the one-year mark.
On Thursday, regime-controlled courts handed down heavy sentences to politicians and activists accused by the junta of corruption, incitement, and other charges.
Hardest hit was Magway Region’s ousted chief minister, Aung Moe Nyo, who was given 18 years behind bars after being found guilty on multiple charges of violating Myanmar’s Anti-Corruption Law for allegedly accepting bribes and misusing state funds. - Myanmar NOW
Public contribution will determine COVID-19 prevention: epidemiologist
People's contribution will determine the success of COVID-19 prevention efforts in Indonesia, an epidemiologist from Australian Griffith University has said.
"The public has a very big role. No matter how good the strategy made by the central and regional governments, it will not be effective and successful without the active role of the public," Dicky Budiman said here on Thursday.
He further said the government's program to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic requires an active role of the community. This entails complying with the health protocols, undergoing a PCR test if symptoms emerge, and getting vaccinated against COVID-19, he added. - AntaraNews.Com