SINGAPORE: Measures, safeguards and precautions have to be put in place before travel can resume between Singapore and Malaysia, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong on Monday (Jun 8).
Mr Wong, who co-chairs the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force, was responding to media queries after Putrajaya said that talks are under way to allow Malaysians in Johor Bahru to commute to Singapore and back for work.
Speaking at a press conference, Mr Wong said that negotiations with Malaysia was part of ongoing discussions with different countries.
“The same principle will apply … we will welcome these travellers. We want to see the resumption of travel, but it has to be done in a safe way. And that would mean looking at testing protocols in place on both sides,” he said.
National Development Minister Lawrence Wong speaking at the MTF COVID-19 virtual press conference on Mar 31, 2020.
He said that before such travel can resume, testing may have to be carried out, a quarantine period may have to be imposed, or a combination of both measures.
“Measures, safeguards and precautions have to be put in place to ensure the resumption of safe travel between Singapore and Malaysia, so we are discussing all these with our Malaysian counterparts, (including) exactly how many people, what kinds of protocols will be put in place and which industries (will be involved)," said Mr Wong.
However, he noted that the volume of travel would not be as high as before.
“I think we are quite clear. It is not going to be back to where we were before the circuit breaker or before COVID-19 hit us. We are not talking about large volumes of daily commuters coming in and out freely," Mr Wong said.
“We are talking about resumption of travel, but in a controlled manner and in a safe manner for both sides. That's in our mutual interest."
PUTRAJAYA SAYS IT IS READY TO ENSURE TRAVELLERS TAKE COVID-19 TESTS
Earlier in the day, Malaysian Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the special ministerial meeting on the implementation of movement control order (MCO) has agreed to allow Malaysians to travel to and fro for work between Johor Bahru and Singapore.
“We are ready to ensure that they take COVID-19 tests ... If that is the condition required by the Singaporean government, that they take swab tests, we agree,” he said.
Malaysia's Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob giving a daily briefing on Jun 8, 2020. (Photo: Bernama)
However, he said that the implementation will only start after the secretary-general of Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and his Singaporean counterpart wrap up their negotiations.
“If we can, we will approve the conditions they propose, and then only Malaysian workers who commute between Johor Bahru and Singapore can resume working again. We are still waiting,” said Mr Ismail Sabri.
The senior minister said with industries in Singapore operating again, they have requested for their Malaysian employees, who are in Johor Bahru, to commute to Singapore for work. Singapore exited the "circuit breaker" on Jun 1, with most economic sectors resuming operations.
Mr Ismail Sabri added that Sultan Ibrahim Johor Foundation and two Singaporean companies Temasek and Thomson Medical Group have stepped forward to contribute two COVID-19 mobile labs and COVID-19 test kits.
Malaysia has imposed the MCO since Mar 18 to restrict domestic and international travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, Singapore also entered the circuit breaker period from Apr 7 to Jun 1, which tightened border controls.
To break the infection chain, both governments mandated a 14-day quarantine for people entering the countries. These measures made it impossible for Malaysians, who reside in Johor but work in Singapore, to travel across the strait.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that the MCO will enter a “recovery phase" beginning Jun 10 until Aug 31. Under the recovery MCO, "almost all" social, educational, religious and business activities, as well as economic sectors will reopen in phases, with standard operating procedures to be adhered to.
While interstate travel is permitted, Malaysia's borders will remain closed.
BEIJING: China on Monday (Jun 8) challenged US Senator Rick Scott to show evidence supporting his accusation that Beijing is trying to slow down or sabotage the development of a COVID-19 vaccine by western countries.
"Since this lawmaker said he has evidence that China is trying to sabotage western countries in their vaccine development, then please let him present the evidence. There's no need to be shy," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily briefing in response to the Republican senator's comments to BBC TV.
US President Donald Trump and other top officials in Washington have repeatedly criticised China's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 4 million people globally and killed more than 400,000.
China has bristled at Washington's accusations of wrongdoing regarding COVID-19 and insists it has been open and transparent about the outbreak, which first emerged from the city of Wuhan in late 2019.
Scott declined to give details of the evidence when asked during his interview on Sunday but said it had come through the intelligence community.
"China does not want us ... to do it first, they have decided to be an adversary to Americans and I think to democracy around the world," he told the BBC.
Hua told reporters on Monday that the development of a COVID-19 vaccine is not a bilateral competition and Beijing hopes the United States will mirror China's pledge and offer any vaccine it develops to the world for free.
PUTRAJAYA: Talks are under way to allow Malaysians to commute to Singapore and back for work, with the foreign ministries currently discussing the conditions to be imposed.
In a press briefing on Monday (Jun 8), Malaysia’s Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the special ministerial meeting on the implementation of movement control order (MCO) has agreed to allow Malaysians to travel to and fro for work between Johor Bahru and Singapore.
“We are ready to ensure that they take COVID-19 tests ... If that is the condition required by the Singaporean government, that they take swab tests, we agree,” he said.
However, he said that the implementation will only start after the secretary-general of Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and his Singaporean counterpart wrap up their negotiations.
“If we can, we will approve the conditions they propose, and then only Malaysian workers who commute between Johor Bahru and Singapore can resume working again. We are still waiting,” said Mr Ismail Sabri.
The senior minister said with industries in Singapore operating again, they have requested for their Malaysian employees, who are in Johor Bahru, to commute to Singapore for work. Singapore exited the "circuit breaker" on Jun 1, with most economic sectors resuming operations.
Mr Ismail Sabri added that Sultan Ibrahim Johor Foundation and two Singaporean companies Temasek and Thomson Medical Group have stepped forward to contribute two COVID-19 mobile labs and COVID-19 test kits.
Malaysia has imposed the MCO since Mar 18 to restrict domestic and international travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, Singapore also entered the circuit breaker period from Apr 7 to Jun 1, which tightened border controls.
To break the infection chain, both governments mandated a 14-day quarantine for people entering the countries. These measures made it impossible for Malaysians, who reside in Johor but work in Singapore, to travel across the strait.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that the MCO will enter a “recovery phase" beginning Jun 10 until Aug 31. Under the recovery MCO, "almost all" social, educational, religious and business activities, as well as economic sectors will reopen in phases, with standard operating procedures to be adhered to.
While interstate travel is permitted, Malaysia's borders will remain closed.
TOKYO: Japan is watching the situation in Hong Kong with "deep concern" after China passed a new security law for the city, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday (Jun 8), and stressed the importance of steps that upheld the principle of "one nation, two systems".
His comments followed a Kyodo news agency report on Sunday that cited officials of Britain, the United States and other countries as saying Japan had decided not to join them in issuing a statement scolding China for the new law, which could endanger Hong Kong's special autonomy and freedoms.
But Tokyo was deeply concerned, Abe told parliament.
"Hong Kong is an extremely important partner in terms of both tight economic ties and human relations, and it is important that the original system of 'one nation, two systems' be upheld and things proceed stably and democratically," he said.
Japan expressed concern about Beijing's move in a statement on May 28, the day China passed the law, and called in the Chinese ambassador to convey its view.
A government source familiar with the matter said Japan did not participate in the joint statement partly because of "rather short notice" and partly in order to focus on efforts by the Group of Seven nations, rather then the signatories.
"Japan took the position to do what it has to do independently, in this case because of, first, time constraints, and secondly, our basic position is that we emphasise our efforts in the G7," the source told Reuters.
Other countries had expressed appreciation for Japan's independent efforts, and it received no complaints, added the source, who sought anonymity because the matter was sensitive.
"We've expressed our opinions this way directly and promptly to China at a high level and have made our opinions quite clear to international society," Yoshihide Suga, the chief cabinet secretary, told a news conference.
Tokyo is in a bind amid the US-China tension over Hong Kong as it plans for a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, originally set for April but postponed over the coronavirus.
TOKYO: Japan was among the first nations to express its concern about China imposing a new security law, and its stance has been praised by other Group of Seven nations, chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Monday (Jun 8).
Officials from the United States, Britain and others were cited in a report by Kyodo news agency on Sunday saying that Japan had decided not to join them in issuing a statement scolding China for imposing the new law, which observers fear could endanger Hong Kong's special autonomy and freedoms.
Suga told a news conference that in addition to issuing a statement on May 28, the day China's parliament approved the law, saying Tokyo was "seriously concerned", it had also expressed its opinions directly to Chinese officials.
"We've expressed our opinions this way directly and promptly to China at a high level and have made our opinions quite clear to international society," he said.
"The United States, Britain, and other nations have praised our response," Suga said, adding that Japan remains in close contact with other nations on the issue.
Tokyo is in a complicated position amid tension between China and the US over the Hong Kong issue as Japan plans for a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Originally set for early April, the visit has been postponed because both nations have agreed to prioritize contain the outbreak of the coronavirus.
WELLINGTON (BLOOMBERG) - New Zealand reported zero active cases of Covid-19 for the first time since the pandemic reached its shores, indicating it has achieved its aim of eliminating the virus.
The South Pacific nation said on Monday (June 8) that the last of its coronavirus patients has recovered. That makes it one of the few countries in the world to have successfully eradicated the pathogen, and the first among those that suffered a sizeable outbreak. Only a handful of nations can make the claim, mostly small islands that had very few infections to begin with.
“Having no active cases for the first time since February 28 is certainly a significant mark in our journey but as we’ve previously said, ongoing vigilance against Covid-19 will continue to be essential,” Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said in a statement.
The development comes just hours before Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is expected to announce a lifting of all remaining restrictions on people and businesses - other than strict border controls to keep the virus out - paving the way for a resumption of normal life.
New Zealand pursued an explicit elimination strategy rather than seeking to merely suppress transmission of the virus. It enforced one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, asking everyone to stay at home and allowing only essential services to operate. While this has almost certainly triggered a deep recession, the government says elimination of the virus should allow the economy to recover more rapidly than many of its peers.
It is taking a cautious approach to the elimination milestone, however. The Ministry of Health's definition of elimination is 28 days of no new cases after the last person to have contracted the virus via community transmission left quarantine, which would be achieved on June 15.
The seven-week lockdown ended on May 14 and cabinet will decide on Monday whether to lower the nation's alert level to 1, which would remove the last remaining restrictions, including the requirement for social distancing. Ms Ardern is scheduled to hold a press conference at 3pm in Wellington.
MASTERCLASS
Ms Ardern's masterclass in crisis management has won her praise at home and abroad. Support for the prime minister and her Labour Party surged in recent opinion polls, forcing the main opposition party to replace its leader less than four months out from a general election.
But it is not a foregone conclusion that Ms Ardern will sweep to victory at the Sept 19 vote, with unemployment expected to soar in coming months.
The closed border is taking a heavy toll on the tourism sector, which was the nation's biggest source of foreign exchange earnings before the pandemic, and there is little prospect of it fully recovering until a vaccine is found.
There has also been criticism that New Zealand's response to the virus was too extreme, as neighbouring Australia appears to have achieved similar results with less stringent measures. During its lockdown it allowed more industries to continue operating, such as construction, and consumers were still able to get a haircut or buy a takeaway meal, keeping many workers on lower incomes employed.
However, there are early signs that New Zealand's status as a virus-free haven will work to its advantage. It is in talks with Australia to open a so-called travel bubble, and the Education Minister has said the country may become an even more desirable destination for foreign students, even if they need to serve a two-week quarantine on arrival.
The theory behind New Zealand's elimination strategy is that Covid-19 has a longer incubation period than influenza - an average of five to six days and as long as two weeks, compared with just two to three days for the flu.
That means authorities have time to identify and isolate those who have been in contact with an infected person before they themselves become infectious.
New Zealand recorded a total of 1,504 confirmed and probable cases of Covid-19 and 22 deaths. It has not had a new case for 17 days.
