These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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452 suicides reported in Singapore in 2020 amid Covid-19, highest since 2012
A total of 452 suicides were reported in Singapore last year, the highest figure since 2012. In a statement on Thursday (July 8), non-profit suicide prevention centre Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) said this was a 13 per cent increase from 2019's 400 cases. It added that the increase in suicide deaths was observed across all age groups. In particular, the number of suicide deaths among the elderly - aged 60 and above - hit 154, the highest recorded figure among this age group since 1991 and a 26 per cent increase from 2019. SOS chief executive Gasper Tan said: "Covid-19 has severely affected the nation's economy, lifestyle and mental health. We are extremely worried about how our elderly are coping during this public health crisis. "During the pandemic period, the elderly were more likely to face social isolation and financial worries. Difficulty in constantly adapting to changes as well as prolonged feelings of loneliness may be devastating." While there was an increase in suicide deaths among the elderly in
2020 compared with 2019, SOS said its 24-hour hotline received fewer calls from them. In its 2020 financial year from April 2020 to March 2021, 4,455 calls were made by the elderly, compared with 4,816 in the 2019 financial year. SOS added that elderly callers expressed difficulty coping with loneliness and inactivity due to isolation, psychological distress, and impaired social and family relationships - which were compounded by the pandemic. The Institute of Mental Health's clinical director in the Office of Population Health, Adjunct Associate Professor Lee Cheng, said that the elderly who are living alone may lack support to deal with the pandemic. "Those who are used to attending social activities outside on a regular basis will also likely feel socially isolated during this period," he added. Said SOS' Mr Tan: "Since the pandemic, many in-person activities and initiatives for the elderly have moved digitally. Those with limited proficiency with technology may find themselves lost and helpless. He added that given the uncertainty of how long more the pandemic will last, it is important to build on existing efforts and find new ways to support the mental health of the elderly. – The Straits Times
Ku Li says ready to be interim prime minister
Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah is ready to take on the responsibility as interim prime minister. Tengku Razaleigh, fondly known as Ku Li said the 'job' would be overwhelming but pointed out that "one must be ready to take the responsibility to protect the people's interest. Anyone including me should be ready to take on such a task in the event of another political crisis like what happened in February last year," he said. The Gua Musang member of parliament said this when answering questions from Tokoh Wartawan Negara (National Journalism Laureate) Tan Sri Johan Jaaffar during a programme hosted by Malay language newspaper Sinar Harian last night. Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that the party had retracted its support for Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin effective immediately. He said the Supreme Council was also urging Muhyiddin to step down and make way for a new prime minister to be appointed for a limited period. Zahid said the new prime minister would only focus on efforts to help the people during the pandemic, addressing the Covid-19 virus through an inclusive approach and ensuring the vaccination process can be expedited. Zahid said the appointment of a new prime minister was crucial as the country and people needed a stable and functioning government. – New Straits Times
Lockdown in sight
A lockdown may be considered to curb the spread of Covid-19 if new cases continue to surge, National Security Council secretary-general Natthapol Nakpanich said. Meanwhile, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) did not rule out the possibility of new cases soaring to 10,000 per day next week given the rapid rise of the highly transmissible Delta variant. Gen Natthapol Nakpanich, head of the CCSA's operation centre, said the CCSA would be willing to consider any proposal from the Ministry of Public Health for a lockdown to contain Covid-19 transmissions. He said he had heard talk of a lockdown. There was no official proposal so far, but if proposed, the centre was ready to consider it. He said he had heard talk of a lockdown. There was no official proposal so far, but if proposed, the centre was ready to consider it. "People should have a correct understanding of the term 'lockdown'. Measures, which included a curfew, taken by the government in April last year could be construed as a lockdown, but the restrictions imposed afterwards – such as the shuttering of businesses and a ban on movement of people – were not," he said. Asked whether the matter would be raised at the CCSA's July 12 meeting, Gen Natthapol said it could come sooner if the number of infections and deaths went up. "We may wait for 15 days to assess the situation," Gen Natthapol said. "We have to take all factors into consideration. "In the meantime, we have to look into other matters, such as controls on the movement of people and solving the problem of bed shortages. We won't just sit and watch the figures." Asked whether a lockdown would be imposed only in areas where the Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus was rampant, or for the whole country, Gen Natthapol said emphasis would be placed on Bangkok and surrounding provinces, along with the four southern border provinces. Other parts of the country could be put under semi-lockdown. He went on to say that a total lockdown would have serious impacts on people living hand-to-mouth and those with no permanent income. "According to the Ministry of Finance, nearly 300 billion baht was spent on remedial measures during the April 2020 lockdown. If we do it again, we would have find a lot of money to compensate people for their hardships,'' he said. Apisamai Srirangson, assistant spokeswoman for the CCSA, said the Medical Association of Thailand had expressed concern about the current rate of transmissions after the Delta variant was found in Thailand last month. "Currently, we have seen the figures rise from 1,000 to 2,000 and 4,000. It is estimated the number may reach 10,000 per day next week [if it continues at this rate],'' she said. The majority of infections in Bangkok were now of the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus and it was spreading to provinces, Dr Apisamai said. Since April, Covid-19 transmissions from Greater Bangkok areas had spread to 40 provinces, carried by people returning to their homes, she said. She said the CCSA's subcommittee also discussed improving the capacity to move infected people with severe symptoms from their homes to hospitals and to increase the number of beds by setting up a field hospital at Suvarnabhumi airport. The 5,000-bed field hospital is likely to open next month. Some 1,360 beds will be available for patients with severe symptoms and the rest for patients with less severe conditions. – Bangkok Post
Galvez says first dose vaccination of 70M people achievable by November
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said Thursday that “realistically speaking,” the Philippines may attain the first dose vaccination of 70 million people against COVID-19 by November. This comes after repeated pronouncements of government officials that the country may reach herd immunity before the end of this year or until January 2022 at the most. “Realistically speaking, ‘yung 70 million, kaya po namin ‘yan. 70 million, first dose. ‘Yan ang target namin makuha namin before November. Sa ngayon, nakikita namin makukuha ‘yan,” Galvez said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel. (Realistically speaking, we can achieve 70 million. 70 million as the first dose. That’s the target before November. Right now, we think it’s achievable.) The World Health Organization advocates for countries to inoculate 10 percent of their population by September, 40 percent by the end of the year, and 70 percent by June next year. As of May 1, this year, the Philippine population has surpassed 109 million. While Galvez admits that the Philippines’ target is “ambitious,” he expressed optimism that it can be accomplished. He noted that setting such a challenging goal will push the government to its “limit” in terms of conducting vaccinations. “Mas maganda po mas mataas ang ating standard at target. At least kung mag-fail man tayo by half o ano, makukuha pa rin natin ‘yung WHO [target] na 40 percent,” Galvez said. (It’s better to set our standard and target high. At least if we fall by half or what, we could still reach the WHO target of 40 percent.) “Ginawa talaga namin very ambitious so we can inspire and push the LGUs [local government units] and the national government to its limit and its potentials. At nakikita namin, kaya ‘yung 500,000 daily. Kayang-kaya,” he added. (That’s why we made the target ambitious so we can inspire and push the LGUs and the national government to its limit and its potentials. And we see that we can really achieve the 500,000 daily vaccinations. It’s really achievable.) The Philippines has administered 12 million COVID-19 vaccine doses out of the 17 million jabs it has received so far. Early this week, however, several LGUs announced a stoppage to first dose inoculation of their constituents due to a shortage of COVID-19 vaccine supplies. – INQUIRER.net
HCM City to enforce lockdown measures starting July 9 amid worsening COVID-19 outbreak
HCM City will go into lockdown under Government Directive 16 for 15 days starting July 9, but the regulations will ensure the least disruptions to people's lives as possible. Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of HCM City, made the statement during Wednesday's meeting with the National Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, as the outbreak in the southern economic hub is worsening with hundreds of new community infections a day and total caseload topping 8,000 today. The 13-million-population has stayed under social distancing order in line with Government Directive No.15 – including closures of non-essential services and businesses – for 38 days (starting on May 31), but the outbreak seems to have not improved, with about 17 per cent of registered cases since late May detected through community screening or when hospitalised. Directive 16, which was enforced nationwide during the early days of the pandemic last year, prescribes the closure of non-essential services and businesses, people are asked (instead of just advised to under Directive 15) to stay at home and only go outside for essential trips (buying food, medicines, emergency care, going to work at essential businesses and factories), not allowed to gather in more than two people outside of hospitals, schools or workplaces or in public areas, and must maintain a distance of 2m in public. Public transport would be halted and movement between different areas will be limited to a minimum. The order will take effect the day after the national high school exam concludes (Thursday, July 8). Phong said the complicated developments of the pandemic, the high population density, the high volume of trade, and especially the presence of the highly transmissible Delta variant of coronavirus, have posed serious challenges for the city. “To soon contain the outbreak, the city needs to be committed to more resolute and stronger measures and needs to accept the sacrifice of short-term interests to ensure long-term development and people's health and safety,” the city’s leader said. Phong asked the city's residents to trust, support, and cooperate with the leadership during the lockdown. He believed that the outbreaks could be put under control if the measures are strictly implemented. Phong reassured that the supply chain in the city remains stable – despite closures of several markets with clusters of infections – in the lockdown period, with goods stocked up to 120,000 tonnes a month and a push for online shopping. Up to 106 markets, 124 traditional markets, and over 2,000 mini markets and convenience stores across the city will be utilised to ensure sufficient essentials and food for residents. In addition, the city's transport department has prepared plans for transportation activities on roads and waterways in the city, in which public transport will be halted and a number of vehicles (including a fleet of taxis) will be tasked with carrying people to hospitals and medical centres in case of necessity. Railway and airway travels will likely also be halted. Ride hailing services using motorcycles and traditional xe om will be suspended, but shipping services will continue to be operational. Deputy transport Le Anh Tuan asked HCM City and neighbouring localities to coordinate to ensure uninterrupted flow of goods and facilitate COVID-19 testing for the drivers operating the vehicles transporting goods between localities. The city assigned the health department to prepare a plan to control the pandemic at a higher level with the support of the Ministry of Health in terms of human resources (10,000 medical staff and doctors) and equipment, establish contact tracing teams and strengthen efforts to suppress local outbreaks. The city is also told to prepare for up 20,000 treatment beds and quarantine space for 30,000 direct contacts of infected patients (F1 cases), ramp up testing to collect 1.3 million samples a day and process 400,000 samples. The focus remains on increasing testing capacity in high-risk areas to make sure that results are returned to people within 12 hours. The city’s leader said that currently the group testing method will continue to test mixing of 10-15 samples, and ruled out larger sample mixture. The city has completed the appraisal and arrangements for 43 enterprises in export processing zones, industrial parks and high-tech zones with 56,000 employees to be ready to implement on-site isolation while continuing to carry out production at factories in line with the guidance of the health ministry. Deputy health minister Do Xuan Tuyen asked HCM City to strictly enforce social distancing measures from household to household, neighbourhood to neighbourhood, residential area to residential area. Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Chair of the National Steering for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, said the Government has agreed with HCM City’s proposal on the implementation of the Directive 16, and be ready to even go further with stronger measures to stamp out the outbreaks as quickly as possible. Dam urged the city to fully use the lockdown days to quell COVID-19 outbreaks. – Viet Nam News
Phnom Penh most likely target for travel bubble
Phnom Penh’s extraordinary vaccination effort means that the capital’s economy is ripe for re-opening. Official figures obtained by Khmer Times show that more than 2.4577 million people in Phnom Penh have been administered second doses of a Covid-19 vaccine as of Sunday. The most recent census from 2019 shows that the capital has more than 2.281 million residents. Government spokesperson Phay Siphan explained the disparity exists because of efforts to vaccinate all individuals in Phnom Penh, not just official residents. “People from outside came to Phnom Penh to get vaccinated. Factory workers from other provinces were in ‘Red Zones’. They also got vaccinated,” he told Khmer Times. When asked whether more than 90 percent of Phnom Penh residents were vaccinated, Siphan indicated that it may be even more, saying that “almost everyone” in Phnom Penh had been fully inoculated, but recommended speaking with Phnom Penh City Hall for additional information. However, its spokesperson was unable to respond before publication. The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces took over vaccination efforts in April. They are anticipated to wrap up their mission in Phnom Penh later this month and dedicate their focus on the rest of the country. Anthony Galliano, Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cambodian Investment Management Holding, said that he is hopeful cases will substantially decelerate before the scheduled 13th Asia-Europe (ASEM) Meeting slated for Nov 25. The long-awaited ASEM summit, which will see Cambodia take centre stage as global leaders descend on the capital, has been delayed twice because of the pandemic. “Phnom Penh is among – if not the – most vaccinated capital city in the world, due to the superb work of the Royal Government. Like Singapore, the city is a prime candidate as a first starter to reopen and reap the benefits of a potential return of business travel and tourism,” Galliano told Khmer Times. “Given lingering concerns and new variants and despite tremendous success in vaccinating the population, a paced relaxation to control, manage and mitigate risk is pragmatic. To encourage completion of unfinished projects, revive the real estate market, especially the condominium market which was heavily dependent on foreign buyers and spur an increase in foreign direct investment [reopening is vital],” he continued. Industry stakeholders are requesting consideration for vaccinated Cambodian residents to be allowed to self-isolate at home rather than the two-week quarantine and $2,000 (partially refundable after expenses) cost at mandated hotels before extending the privilege to vaccinated businesspeople – a move which Galliano characterised as being “pragmatic” "Cambodian residents can quarantine at home and after a series of negative tests can benefit from a reduced quarantine period, while fully vaccinated business travellers can also enjoy a shortened and much less expensive quarantine if found negative. This will encourage a return of business travel and stimulate increased trade and investment. To deter non-compliance of quarantine rules and restrictions, severe penalties could be considered to avoid repeats of offences,” he said. – Khmer Times
International brands abandon Myanmar’s devastated economy
Already hammered by the pandemic, international food and fashion franchises are fleeing Myanmar months after the military sent the country and the economy into turmoil with its illegal power grab US pretzel chain Auntie Anne’s, Chinese hot pot chain Little Sheep, and Taiwanese bubble tea franchise KOI Thé are among the biggest names to have announced their branches will be closing permanently. Singapore-listed Yoma Strategic, owned by the tycoon Serge Pun, was the local partner for the parent companies of Auntie Anne’s and Little Sheep. Thiri Yee Mon, a spokesperson for Yoma, declined to comment on the brands’ departures. Auntie Anne’s entered the country in 2019 and had outlets in the Junction Square, Myanmar Plaza and Junction City shopping malls in Yangon. “Unfortunately, the changing operating environment has led to our decision of closing down the Auntie Anne’s outlets,” the company said in a statement last week. KOI Thé, which has branches in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, could not be reached for comment. Also among those leaving the country is the Thailand-based fashion accessory franchise Jelly Bunny. The company blamed the plummeting Myanmar kyat and higher shipping fees for its departure. The Norwegian telecoms company Telenor has said it is considering pulling out of Myanmar, raising concerns about online privacy. The arrival of foreign brands in recent years marked a milestone in the country’s short-lived emergence from economic isolation. Now, the recent closures are a sign of a devastated economy. “Many shops were forced to close after the coup. It’s not just the branded franchises,” said a resident of Yangon’s Thaketa Township who regularly shops at fashion outlets. Large numbers of employees at locally owned companies have also been laid off. Princess Outfit Collection, a chain of stores selling traditional Myanmar women’s clothing, closed its Mandalay branch last month. The World Bank has predicted that Myanmar’s economy will shrink by 10% in 2021. Businesses have been suffering a cash squeeze after strikes forced banks to close in the wake of the coup, while consumer demand and foreign investment has dropped rapidly. Foreign companies that have stayed are holding back on new investments; the Japanese supermarket giant AEON has halted a $180m shopping center project it was working on with the Shwe Taung company. – Myanmar NOW
Kimia Farma producing, distributing three therapeutic COVID drugs
State-owned pharmaceutical company PT Kimia Farma has said it is producing and distributing three variants of therapeutic COVID-19 drugs azithromycin, favipiravir, and remdesivir. "Kimia Farma is producing azithromycin tablets, which are being produced by a total of 33 companies in Indonesia, with 19 of the companies producing generic azithromycin, including Kimia Farma," said chairman of PT Kimia Farma, Verdi Budidarmo, at a meeting with Commission VI of the House of Representatives, accessed virtually from Jakarta on Wednesday. The company has distributed at least 58 thousand boxes of azithromycin since June 2021, with each box containing 20 tablets, he disclosed. "This month, we will distribute nearly six million tablets and in the following months," he added. Providing details on the distribution chain of the drug, he said a total of 1,233 PT Kimia Farma pharmacies located in different areas are among those stocking the drug currently. PT Kimia Farma is also producing favipiravir and the company is expecting to boost production to seven million tablets by July 23, 2021, Budidarmo informed. He said the drug has been cleared for emergency use by the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) and has been distributed to several hospitals through the company's trading and distribution channel. "Favipirapir is being produced by Kimia Farma. There are six domestic industries that are also producing it using almost all imported materials," he added. The state-owned pharmaceutical company is also aiming to meet the public demand for the therapeutic drug remdesivir, Budidarmo said. "There are currently seven pharmaceutical industries in Indonesia that are importing the drug, one of which is Kimia Farma," he said. Domestic demand for remdesivir injections, he continued, is hoped to be fulfilled by September this year. PT Kimia Farma is involved in the domestic development of remdesivir injections, along with PT Phapros, Budidarmo informed adding, the raw medicinal materials for the injections will be produced by a subsidiary of his company. – AntaraNews.Com