Coronavirus: Australia stands firm on border closure; Tokyo doctors call for Olympics to be axed
- PM Scott Morrison says any plans to relax Australia’s border rules for vaccinated travellers will be implemented ‘only when it is safe’
- Elsewhere, Thailand has recorded its highest-ever daily death count, while border curbs have left Singapore short of workers
Australia’s prime minister on Tuesday said it was still not safe to allow residents who were fully vaccinated for Covid-19 to travel overseas, as industries hit hard by the pandemic press for a faster reopening of international borders.
“I understand that everyone is keen to get back to a time that we once knew,” Scott Morrison told reporters. “But the reality is we are living this year in a pandemic that is worse than last year.”
He said any plans to relax border rules for vaccinated travellers could be implemented “only when it is safe to do so”.
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Australia plans to reopen borders to the rest of the world from the middle of 2022 even as the federal budget unveiled last week hopes to fully vaccinate its near 26 million population by the end of this year.
Airlines, tourism operators and universities – reeling from the impact of border bans – have been urging the federal government to fast track the opening of borders.
“We can’t keep (Covid-19) out forever … It will make us sick but won’t put us into hospital. Some people may die but it will be way smaller than the flu,” Virgin Australia boss Jayne Hrdlicka was quoted as saying in Australian media on Tuesday.
Morrison described Hrdlicka’s comments as “somewhat insensitive”.
Authorities in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, said at least 80 per cent of its adult population has to be fully vaccinated before considering quarantine-free entry.
Australia closed its international borders in March 2020, mostly to non-citizens and permanent residents, helping to keep its Covid-19 numbers relatively low at just under 30,000 cases and 910 deaths.
Though the national immunisation drive missed its initial dosage targets, officials have ramped up the vaccination programme administering 1 million doses in the last 17 days.
So far, more than 3.1 million total vaccine shots have been administered, far short of the 4 million pledged by the end of March.
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Tokyo doctors call for cancellation of Olympics
The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association representing about 6,000 primary care doctors said hospitals in the Games host city “have their hands full and have almost no spare capacity” amid a surge in infections.
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A jump in infections has stoked alarm amid a shortage of medical staff and hospital beds in some areas of the Japanese capital, promoting the government to extend a third state of emergency in Tokyo and several other prefectures until May 31.
“The medical institutions dealing with Covid-19 have their hands full and have almost no spare capacity,” the medical association said in its letter.
Doctors would soon face the added difficulty of dealing with heat exhaustion patients during the summer months and if the Olympics contributed to a rise in deaths “Japan will bear the maximum responsibility”, it added.
Thailand reports highest daily death count
Thailand on Tuesday reported a daily record of 35 new coronavirus deaths, as the Southeast Asian country struggles with a third wave of infections.
Thailand on Monday allowed restaurants to serve in-house customers again despite the surge in infections.
Restaurants in areas with the highest number of cases, which includes the capital Bangkok, were allowed to serve in-house customers again but at only 25 per cent capacity. A previous directive only allowed takeaway orders.
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“The proposal for the implementation of a full MCO is something that we can consider, ” Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said in a virtual press conference on Monday.
Dr Adham noted it was worrying that more young people were being infected.
“Most of those found positive during the second wave of the pandemic were mainly senior citizens,” he said. “The situation has changed in the current wave, with more people from the younger age group testing positive for the virus.”
He also told The Star news website that the ministry needed only a few days to repurpose hospital wards in the state to accommodate Covid-19 patients if the situation warranted it.
Singapore short of workers due to border closure
The ministry said “we have not been able to adequately replace those who have left Singapore,” which depends heavily on foreign workers in sectors such as construction and home help.
The ministry was responding, it said, to “recent calls by members of the public to close our borders entirely” and to rival appeals by businesses to be allowed bring in more workers to address shortages.
Earlier this month Singapore banned entry from South Asia for work permit or long-term visa holders, after record virus numbers were reported in India.
Singapore has since last year been closed to visitors and short-term business travellers from all but a handful of countries.
While the numbers remain relatively low, with 38 new cases reported on Tuesday, officials are concerned about “unlinked” cases and about high numbers in neighbouring countries.
Most of Singapore’s 62,000 virus cases were recorded last year among migrant workers crammed into dormitories. The death toll, at 31, means Singapore has one of the lowest death rates in the world.
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Carlito Galvez, who leads the nation’s vaccination programme, on Monday evening said the term sheet for the order had been signed.
The deal gives a boost to the Philippines, which is targeting to achieve herd immunity this year to help an economy that remained in recession last quarter.
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Most doctors and nurses are still treating Covid-19 patients in hospitals, Galvez said, following a surge in infections that started mid-March.
The government plans to hire midwives, pharmacists, paramedics and medicals students to administer the vaccines, Galvez said. Inoculating workers and the poor will start this month, he said.
The Philippines recorded 5,979 new virus cases on Monday, bringing the total to 1.15 million, the second highest in Southeast Asia next to Indonesia with 1.74 million.
More than 2.5 million vaccine doses have been administered out of a population of more than 109 million, using vaccines mostly from Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and AstraZeneca Plc.
Duterte, on Monday night, warned he may impose another “strict lockdown” should the public disregard health protocols as the country has detected new Covid-19 variants.
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“They are implementing our request to temporarily close down entire factories and we will send health officials in to help them reorganise to be able to quickly resume operations and restrain the virus’ spread at the same time,” he said by phone. “We hope to resume operations of these factories in two weeks to limit disruptions to the global supply chain.”
Four industrial parks – Van Trung, Quang Chau, Dinh Tram and Song Khe-Noi Hoang – were ordered closed starting on Tuesday, according to a statement on the provincial government’s website.
Luxshare and Foxconn – both suppliers of Apple – have plants in Van Trung and Quang Chau industrial parks, Duong said. A Foxconn facility in the province’s Dong Vang Industrial park has been allowed to remain open, he said.
Bac Giang reported 474 virus cases as of Tuesday out of 1,406 local cases nationwide since April 27, according to the health ministry. Two infections were reported over the weekend at Luxshare’s plant in Van Trung Industrial Park, according to a post on the government’s website.
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Indonesia launches private vaccine drive
Their vaccinations will be paid for by their respective companies ranging from labour-intensive manufacturers to micro-, small medium-sized enterprises.
“I am glad the private vaccination drive has commenced. I hope everyone will be protected from Covid-19 and the plants in these industrial and business zones can be more productive,” President Joko Widodo said when he attended the launch at a Unilever plant in Cikarang, West Java province.
“This private vaccination drive could accelerate the inoculation programme in Indonesia,” Widodo added.
The launch was held jointly via video conference with other companies from 18 locations in industrial zones around the capital, Jakarta.
The private inoculation drive is using vaccine from China’s Sinopharm and CanSino. The government is still in negotiations to import Russia’s Sputnik shot for the private scheme.
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The vaccination drive is being coordinated by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce.
The health ministry requires that the vaccines used should be different from the brands used by the government vaccination programme.
Also, the private entities that take part should buy the vaccines from a state-owned vaccine importer and pledge not to pass on the costs to their employees, in keeping with the government’s free vaccination drive for all citizens.
According to a health ministry regulation, the price for a single dose of Sinopharm vaccine is 500,000 Indonesia rupiah (US$35).
The chairman of the chamber of commerce, Rosan Roeslani, said more than 22,000 companies have registered to get more than their 10 million employees and their families vaccinated.
Indonesia aims to reach herd immunity by inoculating 181 million people, but the progress has been slow, with at least 22 million jabs have been administered under the government vaccination programme, out of which 8 million have had their second jab.
Reporting by Reuters, Bloomberg, The Star Malaysia, dpa
