Month: May 2020

Tens of thousands of impoverished foreign labourers have been left stranded and ostracised in one of the world’s most densely packed cities as the tourist paradise of the Maldives battles the novel coronavirus.The turquoise waters and pristine beaches that draw honeymoon couples from around the world have been empty for weeks since a government order to close all resorts. That has left an army of migrant workers jobless.Like Singapore, which recorded a large number of coronavirus cases among…

Singapore on Tuesday unveiled a staggering S$33 billion worth of fresh stimulus measures to bring the total injections this year to nearly S$100 billion (US$70.4 billion), with the government stressing it will go all out to save as many jobs as possible as the coronavirus-battered economy heads into a tailspin.Economists and market watchers had expected the fourth round of measures to have amounted to no more than S$10 billion, and had viewed today’s announcement as an extension to the over S…

Domestic flights will resume across India on Monday after a day of “hard negotiations”, the federal civil aviation minister said on Sunday, after some states sought to limit the number of flights.Flights will restart under an easing of restrictions imposed over the coronavirus, though the number of new cases rose by a record 24-hour amount on Sunday. The 6,767 new cases took the total to over 131,000.Airlines are preparing to resume about a third of their domestic flight operations from Monday,…

Alone in her rented room in Singapore, Malaysian worker Siti Fatimah Awang waited for a video call on Sunday.The morning of Hari Raya Puasa was to her, utterly unfamiliar. Back in her village in Johor Baru, the dawn of this festive occasion – which marks the end of the fasting month – was usually a race against time getting everything ready before her husband and other male relatives returned home from prayers at the mosque.She would run after her two sons to get them dressed, before helping…

Millions of Muslims in Indonesia were marking a muted and gloomy holiday of Eid al-Fitr, the end of the fasting month of Ramadan – a usually joyous three-day celebration that has been significantly toned down as coronavirus cases soar.The world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, with more than 240 million people, has reported nearly 22,000 infections and 1,350 fatalities, the most in Southeast Asia. It means no congregational prayers at mosques and open fields, no family reunions, no relatives…

As the Philippines’ rainy season approaches, experts are warning that “a perfect storm” of diseases could overwhelm the country’s weak health care system, which is already struggling to cope during the coronavirus pandemic.Apart from concerns about the capacity of health centres to treat patients, many of the seasonal illnesses, such as dengue, exhibit similar symptoms as the novel coronavirus in the beginning stages, worrying doctors.“June is [the onset of] the rainy season. That means dengue,…

Saving the life of a British pilot who became Vietnam’s most critically ill coronavirus patient has cost the country more than 3 billion dong (US$128,000) so far, but he has been pronounced clear of Covid-19 and authorities are considering repatriating him when he is strong enough to travel. Patient 91, who tested positive for coronavirus in mid-March, spent 47 days on life support and last week only had 10 per cent of his lung capacity. The 43-year-old Vietnam Airlines pilot now has a lung…

Singapore’s contact-tracing phone app, TraceTogether, will remain voluntary for “as long as possible”, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said.“It is a hybrid system based on public support, keeping public trust, and maintaining privacy,” Balakrishnan said.“I think it is very important to have those features, because otherwise contact tracing will not work,” the minister said in an interview with Sky News Australia.About 1.5 million residents have downloaded the app, or between 20 and 25 per…

As a kid in South Korea, Brian Kim grew up with the opposite of social distancing: Coming from a humble background, he had to share a room with seven family members. Those days are gone, and measures keeping people apart are now helping his fortune.Kim, 54, is the founder of Kakao Corp., the maker of a mobile messenger app that has become almost ubiquitous in South Korea and increasingly used elsewhere in Asia.The firm, which started with a social-messaging app, has expanded its businesses over…

Concerns over the spread of Covid-19 appear to have taken a back seat on the eve of Eid in Malaysia, with thousands of citizens attempting to circumvent a strict ban on interstate travel to return to their hometowns.The government introduced the ban this week after thousands of Malaysians turned up at police stations hoping to obtain special dispensations to cross state lines – something meant to be reserved for emergencies such as deaths in the family. Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said…