These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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TraceTogether, SafeEntry will be used until vaccine-differentiated measures no longer needed: Janil
The TraceTogether and SafeEntry apps still play important roles in Singapore's Covid-19 response, and will continue to be used at least until vaccine-differentiated measures are no longer needed, said Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary on Thursday (March 3).
These technologies enable verification checks for entry into venues or activities where such measures are enforced, which is necessary to protect unvaccinated people who have a higher risk of developing severe disease, Dr Janil told Parliament.
"We aim to keep rules and requirements simple and we regularly review the need for these. We will continue to rationalise and simplify our safe management measures," he said, responding to Mr Leon Perera (Aljunied GRC) of the Workers' Party (WP).
Mr Perera had noted that the enforcement of TraceTogether and SafeEntry checks come with compliance burdens for businesses and asked what criteria the Health Ministry would use when deciding to phase them out.
Dr Janil said TraceTogether and SafeEntry have allowed the authorities to quickly issue health risk warnings and notices, which have kept fatalities low and slowed the spread of Covid-19 by enabling people to self-isolate and seek help early, proving that they are worth using despite the burden.
It is still too early to tell what the approach to phasing out these systems should be or when they will no longer be needed, he said.
"We need to wait until we no longer need vaccine-differentiated measures," Dr Janil said. – Straits Times
Edu Ministry to find ways to address low take up rate of PICKids in Kelantan
Kelantan's less than 10 per cent vaccination rates for Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids) is a challenge to the Education Ministry, said Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin.
Therefore, the Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin said the ministry and the Health Ministry must find the best approach to solve the problem.
"Yesterday, I discussed this issue with the Health Minister and we are looking for the best approach so vaccination rates among schoolchildren in Kelantan can be increased.
"We need to find a balance to this problem as children need to return to schools without the need for rotation," he said after visiting SMK (A) Lati here today. Radzi said the ministry was at the final stage of deciding the best method to be use when schools reopen at the end of this month.
"We (the ministry) do not want children to continue their studies in rotation all the time and will come out with a method which will be applied once schools are reopened," he added.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali recently said most parents have not given permission for their children to receive the Covid-19 vaccine because they prefer to wait and see, stemming from worries over the side effects of vaccination.
He said usually children only experience mild side effects while vaccination can protect them from severe Covid-19 infections.
He added that three states which recorded less than 10 per cent vaccination rates were Sabah, Terengganu and Kelantan. – New Straits Times
Cabinet to review Covid scheme
The Public Health Ministry plans to seek cabinet approval for a new scheme that will cover the costs for Covid-19 sufferers who require emergency treatment for moderate to severe symptoms.
Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he will present the Universal Coverage for Emergency Patients (Ucep) Plus scheme next week.
He said the Department of Health Service Support on Tuesday submitted for cabinet consideration a new set of criteria for spending on emergency treatment for those infected with the virus.
The new rule will provide treatment in all categories under the Ucep Plus scheme, and their rights to treatment will remain intact, Mr Anutin said.
People infected with Covid are divided into three categories: green (mild or no symptoms), yellow (moderate), and red (severe).
Mr Anutin insisted the new rule is not intended to cut costs, but will pave the way for service, hospital beds and medical supplies to be made available for those in need.
He said doctors will make a diagnosis and decide how patients should be treated.
"It is not right for people who do not need to be hospitalised to scramble for beds reserved for those who require more intensive care," Mr Anutin said.
"When we know how to control the pandemic and treat people appropriately, we should manage hospital resources to ensure their optimal use so people who need hospital care can access it straight away." – Bangkok Post
US donation boosts PH Army anti-tank capability
The Philippine Army (PA) on Thursday said the US-donated "improved target acquisition system" (ITAS) has given it a capability similar to those being provided by anti-tank guided missile systems (ATGMs).
"It has a similar capability as that of the ATGMS to deny possible threats sighted on the ground," said Army spokesperson, Col. Xerxes Trinidad, in a message when asked whether the Army has existing ATGMs or these are in the procurement pipeline.
He added that the ITAS uses tube-launched optically tracked, wire-guided (TOW) missiles to defeat threats on the battlefield.
ATGMs are weapons designed to destroy tanks, armoured transports, and other armoured fighting vehicles.
These ITAS are part of a USD18 million precision-guided munition package given by the US government to the Armed Forces of the Philippines in late 2020.
Some of the weapons handed over include 100 TOW-2A missiles, 12 ITAS, 24 Mark-82 bombs, and associated guidance kits to convert these into smart bombs.
Trinidad said the ITAS is "already ready for distribution to our field units".
Also, in the pipeline for the PA is the so-called "medium multipurpose assault weapon (MMAW), he added.
"What we have in the pipeline for the Army capability enhancement program is the procurement of MMAW," Trinidad said. – Philippine News Agency
Viet Nam breaks 100,000 daily COVID cases
Viet Nam's daily COVID caseload has reached six figures for the first time, with 110,301 infections on Wednesday.
The figure brings the total number of cases in the country to 3,709,481.
Of the new cases, 21 were imported and quarantined upon arrival.
Ha Noi again topped its daily record with 15,114 transmissions, and 18 deaths.
The capital has more than 600,500 cases being treated and monitored, of which 593,000 are being treated at home, accounting for 98.7 per cent of its total infections.
It was followed by Bac Ninh (4,698), Nghe An (4,329), Quang Ninh (3,992) and Son La (3,672). On Wednesday, HCM City switched 13 wards in Districts 10, 11, 5, Binh Chanh, Hoc Mon and Thu Duc City to 'orange zones’ (high risk) and 77 wards to ‘yellow zones’ (medium risk) due to the increasing number of new infections.
The country reported an additional 114 COVID-related deaths, raising the national death toll since the pandemic started to 40,452. – Vietnam News
PM Hun Sen calls for calm as gasoline prices soar to record high
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday appealed to people to calm down as gasoline prices hit another high peak, citing that global crude oil has been on surge as the Russian-Ukraine crisis threatened to disrupt global supply. The Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Mines and Energy, which is responsible for regulating gas prices, issued on Tuesday the gasoline prices for sale from March 1 to 15, stating the gasoline price is 4,800 Riel per litre (about $1.180), while diesel at 4,500 Riel ($1.11).
The new gasoline price increased by 17 percent compared to gasoline price dated December 16.
Speaking at an inauguration ceremony of the Phnom Penh-Kampot National Road 3, Mr Hun Sen said that the gasoline price is increasing according to the international crude oil market.
“Please our people, calm down. The oil price hike is not happening in Cambodia only, it happens in every country around the world,” Mr Hun Sen said, adding Cambodia is not the oil-producing country and even in the oil-producing countries, the oil prices are surging.
Cambodian authorities make gasoline price adjustments on every 1st and 16th day of the month based on the price of crude oil in the international market.
Cambodia is not an oil producer and Cambodia buys oil from Singapore and imports from neighbouring countries, so when international oil prices rise, it affects Cambodia’s retail fuel prices, defended Penn Sovicheat, Commerce Ministry’s spokesman.
“The government has stabilised the growth by maintaining tariffs and subsidies by continuing to subsidise $4 cents per litre to prevent overpayments that could affect the livelihoods of people,” Sovicheat said. – Khmer Times
Myanmar junta to abolish six police depts, send officers to war
The junta will soon dismantle six departments under Myanmar’s police and force the officers into the military to bolster its fight against the anti-coup resistance movement, multiple police sources told Myanmar Now.
The police sections due to be axed are those under the “special departments” of maritime, aviation, tourist, oil field, forestry and highway police forces.
A police officer in Naypyitaw told Myanmar Now on Monday that the military had confirmed the plan to reassign the police officers from the six departments to police battalions across the country supporting the military in their war against anti-junta defence forces.
Police battalions are combat-trained and typically carry out general security duties; since last year’s coup they have been involved in crackdowns on protests and clashes with the armed resistance movement. As an institution, Myanmar’s police are part of the Ministry of Home Affairs, which – in accordance with the army-drafted 2008 Constitution – was under military control even prior to the coup.
The total number of staff affected was not confirmed at the time of reporting but is believed to be in the low thousands.
“Everyone’s very afraid and worried now. I heard that they were going to relocate the members of these police forces to police battalions as they are needing more manpower to fight,” the police officer said on the condition of anonymity.
“I think more police officers are going to either defect or join the CDM,” he added, referring to the Civil Disobedience Movement, a general strike which aims to topple the junta. – Myanmar NOW
Task force calls for public commitment in following health protocols
The COVID-19 Handling Task Force has urged the community to remain committed to complying with health protocols while conducting their activities.
"In principle, the government does not prohibit people from conducting activities if they are committed to complying with the health protocols," spokesperson for the COVID-19 Handling Task Force Wiku Adisasmito stated during an online press conference here on Tuesday.
To avoid any form of amassing, people should set a priority scale and gauge the risk of COVID-19 transmission while conducting their activities.
"For instance, people can avoid visiting crowded places and delay travel, especially for the elderly as a vulnerable group," Adisasmito noted while responding to the severe traffic congestion on the Puncak route, Bogor District, on Sunday, February 27, 2022. In the transition to a productive community that is safe from COVID-19, the spokesperson deemed it necessary to jointly maintain vaccinations, health protocols, and health facilities resilience.
Adisasmito remarked that in terms of controlling community activities and enforcing health protocols, the government had issued various policies, including district-level and city-level public activity restrictions (PPKM), the "3M" health protocols task force in public places, and micro-level PPKM. – AntaraNews.Com