These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Migrant worker who received Covid-19 vaccine among 20 new cases in S'pore
A 23-year-old Indian work permit holder who had received both doses of Covid-19 vaccination was the sole locally transmitted case, the Ministry of Health (MOH) reported on Sunday. The man, who works as a lashing specialist, was one of 20 new coronavirus cases confirmed on Sunday, taking Singapore's total to 60,653. The other 19 cases, all imported, were placed on stay-home notice (SHN) on arrival in Singapore, said MOH. The case of the 23-year-old, who stays in a dormitory in Brani Terminal Avenue, was detected through pooled rostered routine testing on April 7. After his pooled test results came back positive for Covid-19 on April 8, he was immediately isolated and had an individual test on April 9. His test result came back positive again, after which he was taken to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. "This case is a reminder that it is possible for vaccinated individuals to get infected," said MOH. The vaccine is effective in preventing symptomatic disease for the vast majority of those vaccinated, said the ministry. It noted that the worker's serology test had come back positive, likely due to the antibodies produced following his vaccination. Sunday's case was the first to occur in a workers' dorm since Feb 28. The 19 imported cases comprise one Singaporean, five permanent residents, two dependant's pass holders, 10 work permit holders and one short-term visit pass holder. With 13 cases discharged on Sunday, 60,320 patients have fully recovered from the disease. A total of 58 patients remain in hospital while 230 are recuperating in community facilities. One is in intensive care. Singapore has had 30 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 15 who tested positive have died of other causes. – The Straits Times
PM launches Cyber Security and Cloud Services
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today launched Telekom Malaysia's (TM) Cyber Security and Cloud Services for the government. The event was held at the Klang Valley Core Data Centre at the TM Complex, here. TM group chief executive officer Imri Mokhtar said TM was ready to fulfil its role to strengthen the public sector Cloud infrastructure, following the government's announcement to migrate 80 per cent of public data to hybrid cloud systems by the end of 2022 with its Cloud-First strategy. "This was in line with the government's aspiration in driving Digital Malaysia through improved connectivity and infrastructure like Cloud and technical capabilities," he told reporters after the launch. Meanwhile, TM ONE Cyber Defence Centre (CYDEC) will provide global-level structured security services including Global Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI), Active Cyber Defence (ACD) and a 24/7 Global Cyber-security Operations Centre (G-CSOC) to protect public and government data. Imri however refused to divulge details on the contract value. Previously, all government data were hosted using on-premises infrastructure. Locally-hosted Cloud infrastructure with in-country data centres significantly eliminates risks of migrating national data to the cloud and the need to protect critical cyber infrastructure from increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, and mitigating potential fallouts from geopolitical instabilities. This allows the government to secure data as well as critical national infrastructure. – New Straits Times
Covid hotspot club managers in Bangkok jailed 2 months
The managers of Krystal Club and Emerald Club in Bangkok's Thong Lor area, where a new wave of Covid-19 in the country allegedly began, have been each sentenced to two months in jail without suspension, Metropolitan Police Sub-division 5 commander Pol Maj Gen Sopon Sarapat revealed on Sunday. He said the Bangkok South Kwaeng Court delivered the sentence on Friday after finding them guilty of violating the emergency decree and the Entertainment Place Act of 1978. A police committee is to consider proposing the closure of the venues for five years, if they were found to have opened beyond the time limit, allowed solicitation for prostitution to take place on the premises and operated without a licence, Pol Maj Gen Sopon added. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration earlier ordered pubs, bars and clubs in Bangkok connected with the latest outbreak to close for 14 days. Eighteen officers at Thong Lor police station, all of them responsible for patrolling public areas, have been infected with Covid-19. Doctors suspected that while on patrol at these entertainment places the officers, although wearing face masks, might not be have worn gloves while performing their duties. They might then have been infected by touching their faces. The Metropolitan Police Bureau has logged 56 infections among its officers and staff, and a further 38 had been ordered to go into isolation, Pol Maj Gen Sopon said. – Bangkok Post
DOH says protocols in place for admission of COVID patients, mum on Roque’s hospitalization
The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday maintained that it has protocols in admitting COVID-19 patients through a triage system. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario had this to say when asked how presidential spokesman Harry Roque was able to immediately secure a bed in a hospital after he contracted COVID-19 while hospitals in Metro Manila and nearby provinces are reported to have reached full capacity. She refused to comment on Roque’s alleged prioritization in getting admitted. “We have our protocols and there is also a triaging system in our hospitals based on the level of severity of patients when they come in,” she said in an interview on ABS CBN News Channel. “For this [issue], please forgive me, I’m not going to comment on this but as I’ve said we have protocols in our system,” Vergeire added. On April 10, Roque reported he is in a hospital for COVID-19 treatment after contracting the severe respiratory disease anew. He first announced he has COVID-19 on March 15 and has recovered on March 25 when he already tested negative for coronavirus infection. Many have questioned Roque’s immediate hospitalization especially after reports of hospitals reaching full capacity, forcing patients to wait for days in emergency rooms, isolate in their cars, or being told to go home. Some patients have died while waiting for proper medical intervention. – INQUIRER.net
Viet Nam pilots initiatives to reduce plastic waste and marine litter
Vietnamese authorities and international organisations discussed ways to reduce plastic waste and marine litter in Viet Nam at a workshop held in Ha Noi on Friday. Delegates presented work between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), the Delegation of the European Union to Viet Nam and Expertise France on policy development as well as recommendations for four pilot projects in HCM City, Ha Noi and Phu Yen Province, which aim to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up untreated on land and in the oceans. The initiatives included enhancing plastic packaging collection, sorting and recycling, encouraging fishermen to collect plastic waste caught while fishing, establishing an alliance of supermarkets to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags, and managing waste in ports. “The Vietnamese Government and the MONRE have shown strong political commitments affirming that we have always given high priority to finding both short and long-term solutions to reduce plastic pollution and foster economic development,” said Director-General of the International Cooperation Department of the MONRE Pham Phu Binh. “The circular economy solution to marine plastic litter can be an important contribution to support the implementation of the National Action Plan and helps Viet Nam achieve its goals. Experience and lessons learned from the project and pilot activities will serve as a basis to expand to other localities and aim to inform policy development initiatives,” he said. The circular economy means markets that give incentives to reusing products, rather than scrapping them and in such an economy, all forms of waste are returned to the economy or used more efficiently, according to the United Nations definition. Talking about the circular economy, Rui Ludovino, First Counsellor, Climate Action, Environment, Employment and Social Policies at the Delegation of the European Union to Viet Nam, said: “We must move towards a circular economy for plastics, an economy in which resources are used and managed more efficiently and more sustainably. Through the Rethinking Plastics project, we work closely with Viet Nam to prevent marine plastic litter and share regional and European experiences,” he said. The four pilot activities complement these efforts towards a circular economy with concrete actions and experiences from the local level, involving communities and households, local businesses and administrations, he added. These activities are run within the 'Rethinking Plastics – Circular Economy Solutions to Maritime Litter' initiative, which is implemented by Expertise France with the financial support of the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Viet Nam has been confirmed as the world's fourth-largest marine plastic polluter after China, Indonesia and the Philippines. Each year, the country dumps an estimate of 300,000-700,000 tonnes of plastic waste into the ocean per year, accounting for 6 per cent of the world's marine plastics. The country has set the target to have zero disposable plastic waste by 2025. It has adopted a development strategy to promote the maritime economy in parallel with protecting maritime environment and ecosystems, specifying "preventing, controlling and significantly mitigating marine environmental pollution; being a regional pioneer in reducing ocean plastic waste" among the country’s objectives for 2030. – Viet Nam News
WHO says celebrate KNY at home to prevent possible ‘catastrophe’
The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged people to stay home during Khmer New Year, to protect their family members, the community and the whole country from falling even deeper into the pandemic. In a press release issued on Saturday, WHO representative to Cambodia Dr Li Ailan said: “We appreciate how important Khmer New Year is for the people of Cambodia, and recognise the strong leadership of the Royal Government of Cambodia in making the difficult decision to restrict travel.” “Full and effective implementation of all combined public health measures is critical to help suppress virus transmission and we will all have to play our part as well,” Dr Ailan said. She added that despite their best efforts, the virus spread is still out of control. Cambodia is on the brink of a national tragedy with new cases occurring every day. During the last two weeks in Phnom Penh, the virus has spread in restaurants, markets, small businesses, private gatherings and parties. Places with crowded close contact between people, with poor ventilation, are high-risk settings, including private residences where friends and families often gather over holidays. The press release also brought up the B.1.1.7 variant, a more transmissible virus strain of COVID-19, which has spread rapidly in more than 120 countries. The variant was first found in the United Kingdom and has now been detected in Cambodia with the first cases dated back in mid-February. Dr Ailan warned that the B.1.1.7 variant spreads more easily between people and can cause serious illness. “This outbreak is different from various outbreaks in Cambodia. Many countries with strong health systems have been overwhelmed by this variant. We need to ensure the same doesn’t happen to Cambodia,” she said. Dr Ailan also warned that even people who believe they are healthy could be carrying the virus. “Almost half of the cases identified in the current outbreak show no symptoms,” she said. “Even those who don’t think they are sick must take care as they could still silently carry the virus and spread it to others.” “Cambodia stands at a crossroad – what we all do in the coming days and weeks will dictate our future. The country must work as one towards a common goal – together we can control the outbreak,” she said. “If we don’t, I fear the consequences will be catastrophic. We must be ahead of the curve. I sincerely wish everyone a safe and happy Khmer New Year at home! Stay home, stay safe,” she added. – Khmer Times
Despite bloody crackdown, Taze protests are not over yet, say leaders
Protests in Taze attracted more people than the entire population of the town itself. Residents of smaller communities in the surrounding area had filled the town’s streets in their tens of thousands almost daily since the coup. At least half of those killed on April 7 were villagers from places like Inn Shay, Pauk Taw, Tway Di, Nanwintaw, Aung Chan Tha, and Kywe Swea, who had come together to show their solidarity with the rest of the nation. For two months, no serious clashes were reported in Taze because the protesters had managed to avoid directly confronting the junta’s armed forces. But that situation came to an end a week into April, as the junta turned its attention to the town after carrying out a major crackdown on another Sagaing anti-coup stronghold in Kalay. On April 7, the protesters in Taze received word that six military trucks were on their way from Ye-U, about 20km to the south. Fearing the worst, they immediately started creating as many obstacles as they could on the road between the two towns. Villagers cut down trees and laid them in the path of the oncoming convoy. They also used stones to impede its progress. But by 3pm, the trucks full of heavily armed soldiers had reached Tanae, just over a kilometre away. The soldiers set fire to the protesters’ barricades. Then, as black smoke rose from the piles of sandbags and burning tires that were the town’s last defence, they opened fire. “They fired on civilians as if they were in a real war, not like they were trying to break up a crowd. They were just shooting at us with a vengeance,” said one protest leader. Using snipers, machine guns and heavy artillery, the soldiers easily overpowered the protesters, who fought back with homemade guns with a range of no more than 200 meters. Some also had air guns, but these were far from lethal. The crackdown continued for around three hours. In addition to those who were killed, at least 20 were injured. Many others narrowly escaped. Many of those killed were shot by regime forces that were already present in Taze, according to residents. While most of the protesters were busy resisting the troops that were coming in from Ye-U, the junta’s armed forces in the town started firing on civilians who stayed behind, they said. Most of the bodies were collected by the protesters that night; more were found in fields around the town the next morning, according to social relief groups. Those who were wounded have had to go into hiding to receive treatment, due to doctors’ fears that they or their patients could be targeted. – Myanmar NOW
10,045,575 Indonesians have been vaccinated against COVID-19
A total of 10,045,575 people have participated in the COVID-19 vaccination carried out by the Indonesian government, according to data from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force on Sunday (4/11) afternoon. That figure was reported after an addition of 90,142 people who received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday. According to the data, there was also an additional 49,466 for people who received a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Then, 5,099,990 people have completed their COVID-19 vaccination, with each person having to get two vaccine shots. In the phase I and II vaccination, the government is targeting 40,349,049 people to get the COVID-19 vaccine, which includes health workers, public service workers and the elderly. The 40,349,049 people consist of 1,468,764 health workers, 17,327,167 public officials, and 21,553,118 elderly people. The government has set a target of vaccinating around 181.5 million Indonesians to develop a herd immunity. Indonesia on Sunday reported an addition of 4,127 new COVID-19 cases, while 5,219 patients recovered and 87 people succumbed to the disease. Indonesian has recorded a total of 1,566,995 cases of COVID-19 since the government announced its first cases in March 2020, while 1,414,507 COVID-19 patients have recovered and 42,530 people have died. The country had 109,958 active cases on Sunday, a decrease of 1,179 people compared to the number on Saturday. – AntaraNews.Com