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.
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Two-thirds of primary pupils have signed up for Covid-19 shots: Chan Chun Sing
Two in three primary school pupils here have signed up for Covid-19 vaccination, and more than half of all primary school pupils have already received their first dose, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said on Tuesday (Jan 18).
In a Facebook post, Mr Chan added that children below 12 started receiving their second dose two days ago.
Covid-19 vaccination for over 300,000 children aged five to 11 here began on Dec 27, with older children given the jab first.
As at Jan 15, more than 100,000 children had received their first dose of the vaccine.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung had told Parliament on Jan 10 that there are currently no plans to introduce vaccination-differentiated measures for children aged 12 and below.
"Children are less likely to develop severe illnesses when infected, and we want to preserve, as much as possible, universal access to holistic education for children," he explained.
On Tuesday, Mr Chan said that he is hoping most primary school pupils will be fully vaccinated before the end of Term 1 on March 12, as this will allow more activities such as the National School Games and Singapore Youth Festival to resume from Term 2.
The resumption of such activities will contribute to the "socio-emotional development of our children", he said.
Mr Chan added: "As we look around at the Covid-19 situation in many parts of the world, and even in our community, we must brace ourselves for a possible surge in infections, with the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant. We are already seeing early signs of a rise in cases in the younger population across the world, including those who are 11 years and younger." He said that Singapore must learn from the experiences of other countries and put in place plans for learning to continue despite any potential disruptions caused by Omicron. – Straits Times
New school cluster detected in Sabah
A new Covid-19 cluster involving a secondary school in Ranau was recorded today after a student tested positive following a self-test.
Sabah Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said the index case for the Puri Ranau Cluster was a 19-year-old girl at SMK Ranau.
"A Covid-19 confirmation test was conducted where the index case was found to be positive. Screening of her classmates and roommates found six more people positive.
"All the female students were in Category 1 and 2. They have been isolated and are being given the appropriate treatment," he said in a statement. Ranau was the first district to record a new Covid-19 cluster in the state this year. On Jan 3, a new cluster named "Jalan Kem Bina" was identified in Ranau.
It involved Hotel Perkasa in Kundasang, Ranau whose index cluster was an employee. The cluster recorded 54 positive cases so far.
Masidi said the number of daily cases in Sabah had once again risen to over 200, with 201 new cases recorded today.
Of the new cases, 196 cases were in Categories 1 and 2, four were in Category 3 and one case was in Category 4.
One death was recorded in Tuaran. – New Straits Times
Anutin looks to delist pot
The Public Health Ministry will on Wednesday propose to totally delist cannabis from the narcotics list, paving the way for households to grow the plant legally.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the ministry is taking another crucial step in decriminalising the plant now that a sub-committee on narcotic substances has revised the narcotics list on which cannabis no longer appears as a Category 5 narcotic substance.
The draft list will be reviewed on Wednesday by the ministry's narcotic drugs control committee chaired by the public health permanent secretary.
When approved, it will be forwarded to the Narcotics Control Board chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam for further approval. The revised narcotic list will take effect after he endorses it.
Mr Anutin said the Public Health Ministry has done its part and the revised list is in accordance with the new Narcotics Code which took effect in December last year.
It is the ministry's attempt to streamline and facilitate the process for growers who will be required to notify authorities rather than seeking approval for every cannabis plant they plan to grow for household use, he said.
However, he said growers are still required to seek permission if they make cannabis products or make cannabis extracts which must have less than 0.2% of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) by weight.
The cannabis must also be locally grown. – Bangkok Post
DILG to LGUs: Convince unvaxxed in checkpoints to get vaccinated
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Wednesday urged local government units (LGU) to come up with creative ways to deal with persons unvaccinated against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) who are intercepted at checkpoints.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, in a message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA), commended the Taguig LGU under Mayor Lino Cayetano for convincing unvaccinated persons caught at the checkpoints and having them vaccinated immediately at the vaccination sites.
“This is a best practice that should be adopted by other LGUs. LGUs may still craft other initiatives and ideas to encourage people to get vaccinated," Año said.
He earlier said he is in favour of proposals to bring the unvaccinated to the inoculation centres for them to get the jabs.
"Taguig City has been doing that on the first day of implementation of restricting unvaccinated persons to their homes. They caught 400 persons at their checkpoints. They were brought to the vaccination site and they agreed to get vaccinated," Año added.
Cayetano has ordered the establishment of vaccination registration booths and the deployment of shuttle vehicles to checkpoints across the city.
The program has been initiated to ensure that residents who want to get vaccinated can have easier access to inoculation. – Philippine News Agency
PM asks education ministry for school reopening timeline
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has asked the Ministry of Education and Training to coordinate with the Ministry of Health to hold a nationwide teleconference collecting feedback on a detailed roadmap to re-open schools and educational establishments nationwide.
Its results and proposals must be reported to Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, who is usually in charge of education and culture.
The move part of the PM’s conclusions at a meeting of permanent Government members in Ha Noi held last week.
Nearly 20 million pupils and students in the country have been forced to suspend going to school and switch to online learning for many months since the emergence of the severe fourth wave of the virus hit the country in late April last year. Over 70,000 students also failed to graduate, affecting education and training.
The Government leader said he was particularly concerned and understood the difficulties that students and teachers faced during online learning.
The education ministry was also required to work with the Ministry of Information and Communications and press agencies to raise public awareness and consensus on the safe re-opening of schools, and allow pupils aged above 12 to go to school following Tet (Lunar New Year) festival as soon as possible, especially in areas with high vaccination rate for children aged 12-17. – Vietnam News
Jabs restriction: Pfizer doses will only be given as booster and not basic shots
The Health Ministry will only allow those qualified to receive booster shots, and not those seeking basic vaccinations, to get Pfizer doses. This comes after the ministry noticed a sudden rush of people seeking inoculations and insisting on getting the Pfizer doses which triggered suspicions about vaccine discrimination.
Ministry of Health spokesman Hok Kimcheng said yesterday that while the country has achieved a high vaccination rate to fight Covid-19 and its variants, they are concerned about vaccine discrimination being the reason why many are dragging their feet about taking basic or booster doses against Covid-19.
“More than nine million people are fully vaccinated with Sinovac, Sinopharm or AstraZeneca and other types of vaccines. Amid the new variant Omicron circulating, the government has appealed again and again to those who haven’t received Covid-19 jabs to come and get inoculated,” he said.
“And we are seeing that the numbers who come to inoculate at the centres have increased noticeably, but vaccine discrimination has popped up as a main concern now,” Kimcheng said.
“Those who haven’t received the basic doses or booster shot are coming to urge the health workers to inoculate them with Pfizer vaccine. Otherwise, they won’t get inoculated with other vaccines that are offered as they claim they are less effective in protecting them from Covid-19,” he added. – Khmer Times
Chin resistance forces brace for a major escalation of conflict
Armed resistance groups based in Chin State say they are expecting Myanmar’s military to mount a major offensive against them in the near future, as regime forces continue to pour into the state.
“They are likely to carry out more operations in the northern and southern parts of the state, considering how many reinforcements they’re sending,” said Salai Htet Ni, the spokesperson for the Chin National Front (CNF).
Resistance sources say that troops began arriving in northern Chin State’s Falam and Hakha townships from Kalay in Sagaing Region earlier in the month. More recently, a convoy of more than 90 military vehicles - reportedly including two tanks - has been making its way from Mindat to Matupi in the south.
Matupi is seen as a strategic crossroads linking all parts of the state, and as such is considered to be of great military importance. Three army battalions, including a tactical command, are based there.
“The road from Mindat to Matupi goes all the way west to Paletwa, and you can also get to the northern part of the state through Matupi. I think that’s why they’re sending a massive number of reinforcements here,” said Nway Oo Linn, the spokesperson for the Matupi chapter of the Chinland Defence Force (CDF).
Another reason may be the fact that the CDF-Matupi has carried out a number of successful attacks against the military since the beginning of the year. – Myanmar NOW
Half-dose booster for recipients' safety: health minister
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has said that the government is providing half-dose heterologous booster vaccinations to ensure recipients’ safety and to facilitate vaccinators’ work.
"The heterologous vaccination has been studied in other countries a lot. The vaccination method has become a preference since it provides multiple protection," he explained during a meeting with Commission IX of the Indonesian House of Representatives here on Tuesday.
The type of antibodies formed by heterologous booster vaccinations will be richer than those formed by the homologous ones, he said.
The United States has researched and implemented half-dose booster vaccinations for Moderna vaccines, he noted.
"The Moderna vaccine has a high incidence of adverse events. Thus, we consider that giving half a dose of the vaccine as a booster will turn out much safer," the minister said.
The decision to administer half-dose heterologous booster vaccinations has also been taken based on the recommendations of the Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI), he added.
In addition, it has also been recommended by a consortium of professors from Padjadjaran University and the University of Indonesia, who have conducted a clinical trial, Sadikin said.
The recommendations have been approved by the National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM), he added. – AntaraNews.Com