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.
Major effort under way to determine extent of Covid-19 infection among Singapore's population
Singapore has taken the fight against the coronavirus to the next level, with a major effort to determine the extent of Covid-19 infection among the population and where weak links exist. A key focus is to find out how many have been infected but did not show any symptoms, and were therefore not tested for the virus. The National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), which is spearheading the initiative, said this is being done using what is referred to as serology tests to analyse a person's antibodies to determine whether or not someone had been infected. Singapore is believed to be among the first in the world to use such tests on a large scale, to hopefully show whether precautionary measures, such as safe distancing and mandatory mask wearing, are effective and adequate. – The Straits Times
Covid-19: Two Sabah health personnel test positive
Two health personnel were tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday, bringing the state's tally to 315. State health director Datuk Dr Christina Rundi said in a statement that the new cases were reported each in Kota Kinabalu and Beluran. The Kota Kinabalu case was detected through targeted screening at the Women and Children's Hospital in Likas, here. "In Beluran, we detected (the patient) through contact tracing from positive cases reported in other districts," said Rundi, adding the health personnel has been quarantined since a first sample was taken on April 20. She also noted Sandakan had yesterday received almost 300 passengers, mainly students, flying in from Kuala Lumpur on two flights. – New Straits Times
Prevention key as House prepares for new session
The House of Representatives is almost ready for the new parliamentary session on May 22, with strict Covid-19 prevention measures including voluntary testing for MPs to apply, secretary-general Sorasak Pienvej said on Wednesday. The chamber is now 99% ready, with some loose ends involving the sound system to be tied up in a final test scheduled to take place on May 5, Mr Sorasak said. On that day, staff will also conduct a trial meeting to ensure everything is working properly, he said. The trial run will also apply social distancing measures, and help determine if there will be enough room for parliamentarians, he said. – Bangkok Post
Small businesses get subsidies, loan relief
The government will subsidize and ease loan interest payments for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the backbone of the Indonesian economy, as they struggle to stay afloat amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The subsidies will cover loan interest ranging from 2 to 6 percent for up to six months for millions of borrowers in the MSME category. The government will also roll out working capital credit for MSMEs, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced on Wednesday. “The emergency working capital assistance will need to be carefully designed so MSMEs can really access this emergency capital assistance scheme,” Jokowi told an online briefing after a Cabinet meeting. Around 41 million MSMEs have access to credit from financial institutions while 23 million are not bankable. – The Jakarta Post
Cebu City targets 23,000+ families for mass testing until May 15
The mass rapid testing for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) will begin on May 4, 2020 in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu. In Cebu City, at least 23,553 households are targeted for the Rapid Antibody Tests to be done in all 80 barangays by 14 teams of medical technologists and city health officers. Councillor Raymond Garcia revealed to council during the regular session on April 29, 2020, that the results of this test would represent at least 10 percent of the total number of households in the city. The results would determine whether a barangay can graduate from an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to a modified community quarantine (MDQ). Mayor Edgardo Labella has released the schedule for the Rapid Antibody Test on Thursday morning, April 30, 2020, in his Facebook Page. – Philippine Daily Inquirer
Việt Nam donates 420,000 medical masks to American Red Cross
US Ambassador to Việt Nam Daniel Kritenbrink expressed his gratitude for a donation of 420,000 medical masks on behalf of the American Red Cross in a handover ceremony on Wednesday. The donation includes 120,000 masks donated by the Việt Nam Red Cross, and 300,000 masks donated by the Việt Nam-US Alumni Club (VUSAC)-Hà Nội. VUSAC Hà Nội sent out a call to its members for donations to buy face masks as gifts for the American people, who are reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. In a matter of weeks, VUSAC members and contributors have managed to raise VNĐ1.26 billion from more than 900 individuals and organisations throughout Việt Nam and overseas. – Viet Nam News
Myanmar rice exports to resume in May
Rice exports will resume in May at regular volumes of 150,000 tonnes for the month of May, the Myanmar Rice Federation (MFR) announced on April 28. 100,000 tonnes will be shipped overseas while the remaining 50,000 tonnes will be traded at the border. More than 2 million tonnes of rice will be allocated for export in the current fiscal year, according to government estimates, of which 10 percent will be retained as food reserves for Myanmar, the MRF said. 112 companies will handle the maritime exports while some 200 companies will be involved in border trade for next month. About 60 percent of the of 2 million tonnes will consist of equal allocations from all the companies. The remaining volumes will consist of additional allocations from companies involved in contract farming and which made investments in mills or warehouses over the last three years. – Myanmar Times