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.
14 public transport staff have caught Covid-19
Fourteen public bus or train staff members have caught Covid-19, but none has been found to have infected commuters, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said yesterday. The MOH, which was responding to Straits Times queries, noted: "There has not been any evidence to suggest Covid-19 transmission arising from a commute on public transport, either involving public transport staff or commuters. "In particular, MOH's investigations have also not established any epidemiological links between the 14 Covid-19 community cases who are public bus and train staff, and the passengers they may have been in transient contact with." Public transport ridership during morning peak hours has doubled since the partial lifting of circuit breaker measures on June 2. Ridership is expected to increase further from today, with more businesses allowed to reopen and small social gatherings permitted. The MOH said the risk of transmission from encounters involving transient contact such as on public transport is low. – The Straits Times
Cops locate Indonesian couple who fled after testing positive for Covid-19
Two Indonesians who fled after testing positive for Covid-19 yesterday were located by police last night, and conveyed to the Sarawak General Hospital here. The duo, who are husband and wife, were discovered in a residential area near Jalan Matang Baru here, at about 11.15pm. "Both of them were taken by the Health Ministry's personnel to the hospital for further action and treatment," Sarawak police Commissioner Datuk Aidi Ismail said this morning. In a statement yesterday, the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) said the couple fled after undergoing a mandatory health screening as part of a work permit application in Sarawak. They are believed to have escaped while the committee was conducting close contact tracing and investigating the source of their infection. – New Straits Times
Online child sex abuse nears record high with coronavirus
Online child sex abuse cases in Thailand are set to hit a record high this year, police said on Thursday, with cybersex predators exploiting the new coronavirus crisis to target more children. The police-led Internet Crimes Against Children (TICAC) taskforce has rescued more than 100 children in the last two months - almost double the 53 victims helped in 2018, which was the highest annual figure since its foundation in 2016. "Children aren't going to school and criminals are taking advantage of this to look for income during unemployment," Thakoon Nimsomboon, head of TICAC, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The global spread of cheap, high-speed internet and the rise in mobile phone ownership has fuelled cybersex crimes in recent years, with children from Thailand to the Philippines being exploited over livestreams for paying clients worldwide. – Bangkok Post
Indonesian clinicians consider dexamethasone for COVID-19 patients
Indonesian medical experts are mulling over the possibility of using dexamethasone, an inexpensive and widely used steroid recently hailed as a “major breakthrough” in treating COVID-19 severe cases, as they seek to update their protocol following recent global studies on various potential treatments. "We, from [professional organizations], have been discussing [for the] past three days about dexamethasone because the results in England were quite convincing," said pulmonologist Agus Dwi Susanto, the chairman of the Indonesian Society of Respirology (PDPI) who helped draft the country's coronavirus treatment protocol. Indonesian doctors have been relying on a protocol issued by the PDPI, Indonesian Cardiologist Association (PERKI), Indonesian Internist Association (PAPDI), Indonesian Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy Association (PERDATIN) and Indonesian Paediatrician Association (IDAI). – The Jakarta Post
Mass layoffs hit PH aviation industry
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the ground handling company of Cebu Pacific to lay off more than 1,000 employees, or a quarter of its workforce, in the single-largest retrenchment in the local aviation industry due to the health crisis. 1Aviation Groundhandling Services Corp. on Thursday said the move was part of “drastic measures to ensure its survival” as the pandemic continued to pummel the air travel business. “With a heavy heart, we are left with no other recourse but to let go of 25 percent of our total workforce,” the company said in a statement. The workers’ last day will be on July 20. In April, 1Aviation laid off 400 newly hired workers, including check-in and boarding gate agents and baggage handlers, following the Luzon lockdown. Other local carriers have also cut jobs to conserve cash amid the pandemic. Philippine Airlines (PAL) laid off 300 ground staff last February, while Cebu Pacific retrenched almost 190 employees last March. AirAsia Philippines said it would lay off about 260 employees, including cabin crew, by the end of June. – Philippine Daily Inquirer
Việt Nam to resume travel when disease prevention measures satisfied: FM Spokesperson
Based on the circumstances and the needs of those involved, Việt Nam is discussing the step-by-step resumption of travel with a number of countries, including China, the Republic of Korea, and Japan, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lê Thị Thu Hằng said on Thursday. She passed on the information while answering questions from reporters on the possibility of resuming travel with other nations given that Việt Nam has initially controlled the spread of COVID-19. Any resumption, she emphasised, must be based on compliance with disease prevention measures and specific conditions, so as not to cause the virus to spread. – Viet Nam News
Man tests positive for Covid-19 upon return from Malaysia
A 21-year-old migrant worker has tested positive for Covid-19 after returning to Cambodia from Malaysia on June 16, according to the Health Ministry, marking the 129th recorded case of the virus in the country since January 28. The man was among a group of 115 workers on board Malaysian Airlines flight MH 762 from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Phnom Penh International Airport on the evening of June 16. The migrant laborers had been stranded in Malaysia for months amid the Covid-19 outbreak. A Health Ministry statement on June 18 said that the man, from Koh Kong province’s Sre Ambel district, had tested positive for Covid-19 on June 17. According to the statement, he is now receiving medical treatment at Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital, which has been handling all Covid-19 patients in Cambodia. – The Cambodia Daily