These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Covid-19 transmission via contaminated surfaces at Jurong Fishery Port possible, but may not be main route
Transmission via contaminated surfaces at the Jurong Fishery Port was possible, though unlikely to be the dominant route of Covid-19 spread, said experts here. The largest active cluster in Singapore, which has more than 1,000 cases linked to it, began after a number of fishmongers who had visited the fishery port tested positive. Singapore's director of medical services, Associate Professor Kenneth Mak, said at a July 20 press conference of the multi-ministry task force tackling Covid-19 that the infection was likely introduced from Indonesian or other fishing boats. However, the exact mechanism of transmission from the fishing boats to stall operators at the port "isn't entirely clear", he had noted then. Still, fomite transmission, which refers to objects or materials likely carrying infection, through contaminated surfaces and at the stalls, remains a strong possibility. Professor Paul Tambyah, president of the Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection, said the outbreaks in the fishery port are a throwback to what happened at the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan, China, where the Sars-CoV-2 virus was first detected. However, Prof Tambyah noted that while there was extensive environmental contamination detected in the market there, no data is currently available on the environmental samples from the Jurong fishery port. "If the environmental samples (taken from the Jurong fishery port) were all negative, that would make person to person contact the most likely mode of transmission," he said. "If, on the other hand, there was extensive environmental contamination like in Wuhan, then surfaces are likely to be more important (in facilitating transmission of the virus)." The Straits Times has contacted the Ministry of Health on whether environmental samples were taken at the fishery port. However, Associate Professor Raymond Lin, director of the National Public Health Laboratory at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, said there is still no conclusive evidence on the relative importance of human contact, airborne spread and surface transmission as modes of transmission. "In the same way, there has been no consensus among experts on the mode of transmission associated with Wuhan seafood market in 2020," he said. Pointing to studies done on previous clusters, Prof Tambyah noted that fomite transmission had also been postulated as a possible route of transmission in Singapore's first church cluster. An infected couple from Wuhan who had attended a service at the Life Church and Missions Singapore in January last year were thought to have sat in the same seats as those who were subsequently infected, thereby seeding the cluster. Similarly, a study looking at a cluster in a Tampines Housing Board block in July last year did not rule out the possibility of fomite transmission, after two households which had no contact at all, were both infected, he noted. – The Straits Times
My position will be put to the test this September, says PM
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin says he is confident that he still commands the support of a majority of members of parliament at this time, therefore the issue of him resigning does not arise. In a special address to the nation this afternoon, Muhyiddin informed that he will however put the legitimacy of his position to the test when the Dewan Rakyat sits in September where a motion of confidence in him will be tabled. This, he said, was because he was aware that many were still questioning his position as prime minister. "I am aware that my position as Prime Minister is often questioned. "Therefore, I have informed His Majesty the King that I will determine my legitimacy as Prime Minister in Parliament. "A motion of a vote of confidence in me will be tabled in Dewan Rakyat when it convenes in September. "This way, my position as Prime Minister and Perikatan Nasional as the ruling government will be determined in accordance with the law and the Federal Constitution," he said, adding that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had consented to this suggestion. Muhyiddin said he had informed the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, during their meeting in Istana Negara earlier today, that he had received a number of statutory declaration letters from members of parliament which convinced him that he still had the support of the majority. "Therefore, my resignation as stipulated in Article 43 (4) of the Federal Constitution does not arise." Article 43 (4) states that: "If the Prime Minister ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives, then, unless at his request the Yang di-Pertuan Agong dissolves Parliament, the Prime Minister shall tender the resignation of the cabinet." Several cabinet ministers were also present during the special address, including Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Senior Minister (International Trade and Industry) Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Jidin, and Senior Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof. Also present were Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili, and Chief Secretary to the Government Datuk Seri Mohd Zuki Ali. – New Straits Times
Health Ministry steps in to defend four doctors
The Public Health Ministry has called on members of the public to give fair treatment to four senior doctors who were strongly criticised on social media for their alleged involvement in the selection of vaccines. The ministry on Tuesday issued a statement saying that the four under-fire doctors have worked tirelessly to fight Covid-19 and were never involved in ministry decisions to buy Covid-19 vaccines. "These medical advisers only gave advice to the ministry on fighting the spread of Covid-19. They should be respected by the public. They have greatly contributed to helping the ministry [control the outbreak]," said Kiattiphum Wongrajit, permanent secretary at the public health ministry. Dr Kiattiphum said the four doctors are Yong Poovorawan, chief of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at Chulalongkorn University; Tawee Chotpitayasunondh, an expert on the national committee on communicable disease; Prasit Watanapa, dean of the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital and Kulkanya Chokephaibulkit, director of the Siriraj Institute of Clinical Research. Dr Kiattiphum said he felt uneasy when he heard some people had harshly criticised these doctors and it was possible that such unconstructive criticism would have an impact on their daily life and work. He said it was necessary for the ministry to issue a statement to protect their reputations. "They are also medical academics who can express any comments or suggestions freely. They have never been involved with the ministry's buying of [Covid-19] vaccines or any other medical tools. Furthermore, we appreciate their dedication in helping the country," he said. Those criticising the four physicians believed the doctors were behind the ministry's decision to bring in a large quantity of Sinovac, which has been said to have low efficacy against the Delta variant. Meanwhile, a source at the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said it will shortly provide 1.25 more million doses of vaccine to Bangkok. – Bangkok Post
Palace orders gov’t agencies in NCR to lower on-site staff to 20% during ECQ
Malacañang has ordered all government agencies in Metro Manila to reduce their on-site personnel to just 20 percent while the rest work from home during the two-week enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from August 6 to 20, 2021. In Memorandum Circular No. 87 signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea released Wednesday, a full on-site capacity can only be employed by agencies providing health and emergency frontline services, laboratory and testing services, border control, and other critical services. The directive defined on-site capacity as the number of employees or workers who are physically present at their designated workplaces outside residence. Malacañang also ordered heads of Metro Manila agencies to report to their department head the “specific percentage of the agency’s skeleton workforce, together with the arrangements to ensure continuing operation of the agency.” Still, department heads may modify the submitted on-site capacity and related arrangements “as health considerations and the exigencies of the service may require.” Legislative and judicial branches of government, independent constitutional bodies, and local government units in Metro Manila were also urged to adopt Memorandum Circular No. 87. From August 6 to 20, Metro Manila will be under ECQ to prevent further transmission of the COVID-19 Delta variant. – INQUIRER.net
Viet Nam cuts quarantine for fully vaccinated arrivals to 7 days: Health ministry
Fully vaccinated arrivals to Viet Nam with negative COVID-19 tests will only have to undergo seven days of centralised quarantine and another seven days for medical observation, according to a new instruction from the health ministry. The decision, signed by deputy health minister Do Xuan Tuyen, is made based on data from the World Health Organization (WHO) in Viet Nam, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. Specifically, the reduced quarantine period – compared to previous 14 days of centralised quarantine and seven days of follow-up medical observation – is applicable to those having certified (by relevant authorities of the home country) proof of negative RT-PCR tests for SARS-CoV-2 72 hours prior to departure, having been fully vaccinated with the last dose at least 14 days but no more than 12 months before the entry time (with vaccination certificates); or in place of vaccination records, those having been infected with coronavirus (with documents proving the positive status using RT-PCR method no more than six months prior to the entry date), or proof showing they have recovered from the disease or hospital discharge or equivalent documents issued by competent authorities in the country where they have been treated. All entries will have to be tested for COVID-19 on the first and the seventh day of the quarantine period (counting from the entry date). The first test could use either rapid antigen tests or RT-PCR tests, but the second test would have to be single-sample RT-PCR tests. Relevant authorities will handle cases with positive tests in line with existing instructions and guidelines. Those completing centralised quarantine and travelling to their residences, hotels, and accommodation for further observation must wear masks, keep a distance, and use the contact tracing app Bluezone, according to the health ministry’s document. The Bluezone app is required to be active during the seven days of follow-up observation. The foreign ministry is asked to provide guidelines on verifying and approving COVID-19 vaccination certificates or COVID-19 recovery proof or the equivalent documents by foreign authorities. The local authorities must strictly abide by the instructions from the health ministry in the management of quarantined persons and handover and reception of those completing centralised quarantine period to ensure no cross infections and spread of the virus to the community. Those eligible for reduced quarantine could be arranged to pay for quarantine at hotels depending on their requests. Previously, the northern province of Quang Ninh has been selected by the health ministry to carry out pilot implementation of the seven-day quarantine in July. – Viet Nam News
Cambodia’s COVID-19 misery extends to increases in Delta variant to 265 with capital and suburbs affected
Cambodia has detected a total of 265 cases of the Delta Variant of the COVID-19 virus with the capital city being infected now, compared to Siem Reap, Oddar Meanchey, Kampong Thom and Tbong Khmum previously. They detected 42 new cases of the Delta variant on Tuesday, comprising five in the capital, 18 in Siem Reap province, 15 in Oddar Meanchey province and four in Kampong Thom province. “Currently, the Delta variant has been spreading in our communities,” Dr Or Vandine said, adding that its transmission is much faster than previously circulating strains.” The health ministry said in a press statement on Monday that the Delta variant had been found in the capital and nine provinces. It is believed that the originating case of the Delta Variant was Thailand through returning Cambodian migrant workers who had been infected and brought it into the country and spread them unknowingly since symptoms are almost the same as the predominant Alpha variant. However, detection of the Delta Variant and Delta Plus can only be done in the Pasteur Institute through sequencing the virus. Worldwide, the Delta variant and Delta Plus has been blamed for rising cases and vaccines are said to prevent death and minimise the risks of this variants. In addition, the Ministry of Health is also on the lookout for the Gamma variant from Brazil and the Lamda variant from Peru. Even as people began to feel some hope – or at least cautious optimism –early this summer that the pandemic could recede to the background, there was still the threat that new mutations of the COVID-19 virus could bring it back, and it might be even stronger. A major worry right now is Delta, a highly contagious SARS-CoV-2 virus strain, which was first identified in India in December. It swept rapidly through that country and Great Britain before reaching the U.S., where it is now the predominant variant. – Khmer Times
Military blames Covid-19 for death of Kalay detainee tortured in their custody
One day after two men were arrested in Sagaing Region’s Kalay Township by the junta and accused of transporting weapons, the family of one man was told that he died in military custody on July 31 –of Covid-19. At the time of their arrest, Lam Khant Htan and Lal Kaim, both 29, were travelling back to the Kalay village of Thayar Kone after working for more than one year in Ruili, China. On July 30, the fourth day of their journey home, they were detained by the junta’s armed forces at a toll gate near Lat Pan Chaung in Kalay at 11am. Some 24 hours later, a family member told Myanmar Now that they were notified through a community elder that Lam Khant Htan had died of Covid-19 and that they needed to collect his body from a local hospital. “We were allowed to take a look at his body. It was obviously not Covid-19,” the family member said of Lam Khant Htan’s cause of death. “Both of his arms and legs were broken. There was even a head injury. His back was covered in bruises. His neck also had some marks that suggested he had been strangled. All of the injuries were very severe,” she told Myanmar Now, adding, “He must have gone through a lot.” A photo of Lam Khant Htan’s body seen by Myanmar Now indicated that he had suffered serious injuries to his face, head, and both of his legs. Lal Kaim was still believed to be in military custody at the time of reporting. The two men left Ruili on July 27, according to Lam Khant Htan’s relative. Unable to get bus tickets to their destination, they rented a van driven by two other men, paying 90,000 kyat (US$55) each. They stopped briefly for a break in Mandalay on July 29, and from there, continued towards Kalay, stopping outside the town in the early morning hours of July 30. The drivers reportedly asked the men to get out of the van on the outskirts of Kalay, and to hire a different taxi for the rest of their journey to the town. They allegedly asked Lam Khant Htan and Lal Kaim to leave their bags in the van and said they could pick them up when they arrived in Kalay later. Lam Khant Htan’s family member said that he had then called her and asked her to send them a taxi, but, due to concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic, the local taxi driver instead arranged for a social services team to pick up the two men and take them to a quarantine centre. The social services vehicle brought them towards Kalay. At the toll gate outside Kalay, the van in which the two men had originally ridden from Ruili was stopped and searched by the military. “The car they had hitched a ride in was found to be carrying weapons, I don’t know the exact number, though. When the drivers were asked about who the weapons belonged to, they lied and said that it was Lam Khant Htan, who was following them in a social services vehicle,” his relative said. The social services vehicle was subsequently stopped, and both the staff and Lam Khant Htan and Lal Kaim were arrested. Their families only learned of their arrests once the social services staff – who were beaten and interrogated in junta custody – were released. On the morning of July 31, an elder in nearby Tahan Township was contacted by the military and was asked to arrange the collection of a body of a Covid-19 victim. The elder in turn notified a local social services group. The body belonged to Lam Khant Htan. His body was picked up from the 100-bed hospital in Kalay and sent to Thayar Kone village, according to a spokesperson from the social services group; his family held a funeral for him the following afternoon. Myanmar Now tried to contact the military for comment on the arrest and death of Lam Khant Htan and continued detention of Lal Kaim, but the calls went unanswered. The bodies of multiple people who have died in military custody since the February 1 coup have been concealed from their families under the junta’s claim that they had Covid-19 and were still contagious. In these cases, the families have been forced to immediately cremate the bodies. Relatives of the deceased have maintained that if they had been able to examine the victims, they believe their bodies would exhibit clear signs of torture, as Lam Khant Htan’s did. No Covid-19 tests are known to have been carried out in the junta’s interrogation centres. According to data compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, at least 945 civilians have died in the hands of the military council since the coup. – Myanmar NOW
Jakarta govt pushes for mobile vaccinations to cover more participants
The Jakarta government has pushed for conducting mobile vaccinations in several areas in Jakarta to expedite inoculation numbers in the capital and to reach more participants in areas of low vaccine coverage. "The public can register at their neighbourhood units (RT)," Jakarta Smart City posted the announcement on the Instagram account @jsclab on Wednesday. Four mini vaccination centres are spread across four locations in Jakarta, notably at State Junior High School SMPN 156, Tanah Tinggi, Johar in Central Jakarta; at RPTRA Cilincing Berseri, Cilincing, in North Jakarta; at Pondok Kelapa Sate Elementary School SDN 06, Pondok Kelapa Selatan Street, Duren Sawit. in East Jakarta; and Srengseng Sawah Urban Village Office, Srengseng Sawah Raya 8 Street, Jagakarsa, South Jakarta. The centres are open from 8:00 to 12:00 local time, except for the fourth centre from 16:00 to 19:00 local time. Vaccine recipients must bring along the original or copies of their identity cards as an administration requirement. The vaccination centres will administer the Sinovac vaccine to all recipients starting from children above 12 years of age. Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan had earlier stated that mobile vaccinations were expected to reach residential areas and economic centres in a bid to expedite the vaccination program. "I suggest the vaccination to be conducted in the afternoon and evening as well, especially in economic centres to accommodate more recipients," Baswedan remarked. The governor began to roll out mobile vaccinations on July 7 with the help of several stakeholders. He firstly rolled out 16 mobile vaccine ambulances as part of the efforts to expand the coverage of the COVID-19 vaccination program in the capital city. Baswedan expressed hope that mobile vaccinations could help the Indonesian government achieve the inoculation target. According to data from covid19.go.id/, by August 3, some 48 million people had received the first dose of the vaccine, while 21 million people had been fully vaccinated. The government has set a target to vaccinate at least 208 million Indonesians in order to achieve herd immunity. – AntaraNews.Com