In this update we look back on the week that was, Monday 20 April to Sunday 27 April 2020:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cambodia<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Last week I\nreported that the Kingdom would quarantine 15,000 garment workers<\/a> who defied the inter-province travel\nban. On Friday, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training said that so far\nover 5,000 workers tested<\/a> did not have the coronavirus.At\nthe time of writing, Cambodia has not recorded a positive case for two weeks.\nTo date the country has reported 122 cases. On Saturday, China\u2019s Ministry of Defence donated 16\ntonnes of medical supplies to their Cambodian counterpart<\/a>. This is the third time Phnom Penh\nhas benefited from Beijing\u2019s \u2018mask diplomacy\u2019 during the coronavirus pandemic.\nPrevious support has seen the despatch of Chinese medical experts (March 25)\nand the provision of medical equipment. In an interesting move, the European Union has provided Cambodia\nwith a $66.7 million grant<\/a>\nto help restore the economy, in apparent recognition of the Kingdom\u2019s COVID-19\nresponse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indonesia<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Indonesia, the region\u2019s most populous Muslim community welcomed in the start of Ramadan in unprecedented conditions. President Joko Widodo had earlier said he would rely on persuasion<\/a> to keep people at home during the mudik<\/em> homecoming, but on Tuesday announced at a cabinet meeting that mudik<\/em> would be banned. Each year during Ramadan more than 20 million workers leave Jakarta to celebrate the Eid holiday, but with travel now heavily restricted until June and many low-income workers without jobs, many are struggling<\/a> to continue living in the capital. The government has boosted subsidies for rice, electricity and other essentials, in addition to providing 1 million rupiah for low-income households in the capital Jakarta. But some groups say that the assistance is struggling to reach some Indonesians<\/a> who don\u2019t have a government issued identity card. Laos has\nregistered 19 confirmed COVID-19 cases since\nMarch 24<\/a> with no\nrelated fatalities. Health officials state that this number has remained steady\nfor nine consecutive days now but warned that the small landlocked country\nremains vulnerable because of limited medical resources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Malaysia<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n New restrictions<\/a> mean that only 400 Malaysians working\nin Singapore are allowed to return per day after being granted an entry permit,\nwith all arrivals forced to quarantine at designated centres for two weeks. Some\nrights groups have aired forced labour concerns in Malaysia\u2019s rubber glove factories<\/a>\u2014responsible for two-thirds of the\nworld\u2019s supply\u2014with global demand expected to increase by 30% this year. Those\nmigrant workers who didn\u2019t return home worry more about where they will source their next meal<\/a>, rather than COVID-19. Muslims adapt\nto social restrictions with traditional Ramadan bazaars going virtual<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myanmar<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/strong>On Tuesday, a World Health Organization driver died<\/a> when gunmen fired on him and another worker as they transported coronavirus test samples from Rakhine state (where fighting has been raging for over 15 months) to the city of Yangon. Both government soldiers and Arakan Army troops have blamed each other for the shooting. Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director for Human Rights Watch, said: \u201cThe death of this WHO staff member \u2026 illustrated the travesty of continuing war amidst a global pandemic\u201d. Thousands of migrant workers<\/a> from China\u2019s southwest Yunnan province are returning to Myanmar via the Laukkai land border in the country\u2019s northern Shan state. The government requires returning migrants to quarantine for 14-days, but local facilities lack the capacity to accommodate such high numbers, with some quarantine measures therefore not being observed. Aung San Suu Kyi has been taking to Facebook<\/a> daily to communicate the government\u2019s efforts to curb the coronavirus. Myanmar\u2019s military<\/a> appear to be leading the country\u2019s approach to managing the coronavirus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Philippines<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Several\nprovinces in Luzon, including Metro Manila, are under an extended quarantine\nuntil May 15, in what is called \u2018enhanced community quarantine\u2019<\/a>. The Central Bank Governor said that\nthe coronavirus pandemic will likely see the Philippine economy contract<\/a> for the first time in two decades. Manila\nreported that army soldiers were ambushed and killed by New People\u2019s Army rebels<\/a> while they were distributing\ncoronavirus aid money in the north-eastern province of Aurora. This latest\nclash is despite the declaration of a unilateral ceasefire until April 30, in\nline with the United Nation\u2019s call for a global truce during the COVID-19\npandemic. Human Rights Watch have warned of a potential serious coronavirus\noutbreak in prisons following the Cebu jail outbreak<\/a>, which is the biggest known COVID-19\ncluster in the Philippines. In a move to ease tensions and spread goodwill, a\nunit of Empire\u2019s stormtroopers<\/a> (the 501st Cebu Scarif Garrison)\nassisted in manning checkpoints while the province remains in enhanced\ncommunity quarantine. President Duterte announced he would give P50 million to the Filipino\nscientists<\/a> who\ndevelop a vaccine\u20145 times the amount originally offered the week before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Singapore<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Singapore\ncurrently has the highest number of confirmed cases in South East Asia,\nfollowed by Indonesia and the Philippines. The city-state moved to extend lockdown restrictions<\/a> with the \u201ccircuit breaker\u201d now in\nplace until June 1\u2014originally imposed at the start of April and due to end on\nMay 4. While a slight dip in local cases is a positive sign, health experts\nhave warned that it is still too early to tell if Singapore\nhas turned a corner,<\/a>\nwith the slide needing to continue for at least a week. Meanwhile, authorities\nprepare for the worst by building a temporary mega structure<\/a> at Tanjong Pagar Terminal to\naccommodate up to 15,000 people. The Changi Exhibition Centre has been\nrepurposed into a community isolation facility for migrant workers recovering\nfrom COVID-19. Robots deliver meals and provide\nteleconferencing services to reduce contact.<\/a> In an effort to separate healthy foreign workers, around\n10,000 employed in essential services have been relocated into 18 alternative living\nsites<\/a>, including\nmilitary camps, floating hotels, and sports halls. A bill is currently before\nparliament to enable virtual marriage<\/a> solemnisations during the COVID-19\noutbreak. Singapore carried through with its tough penalties for those\nviolating the lockdown\u2014a 34 year old man who breached the 14 day stay at home\norder to have pork rib soup<\/a> was the first to be sentenced to 6\nweeks in jail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thailand<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Eight of Thailand\u2019s airlines<\/a> are hoping to negotiate terms for\n\u201csoft loans\u201d from the government, with separate negotiations to commence for\nthe government to provide liquidity support to the national carrier\u2014Thai\nAirways. Thailand is set to borrow $18.6 billion this fiscal year<\/a> to deal with the coronavirus\npandemic. The head of the ministry\u2019s public debt office stated that 80% will\ncome from the domestic market and bank loans, and potentially from the World\nBank and Asian Development Bank\u2014\u201cif the terms are appropriate\u201d. Thailand automatically extended visas<\/a> for foreigners for three months in\nrecognition of the travel restrictions and border closures. Devout Buddhist novices<\/a> press on with their studies while\nobserving social distancing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Vietnam<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Vietnam has gradually begun easing<\/a> some COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. But the country is erring on the side of caution, moving toward a model it calls \u201clive safely together<\/a>\u201d\u2014maintaining precautions such as social distancing but letting some people return to work. Domestic air travel<\/a> has been partially restored and businesses that closed during the lockdown have resumed, including Toyota Motor Group. Vietnam, the 2020 ASEAN chair, committed to enhancing cooperation with the US<\/a> in the fight against the coronavirus. In a meeting convened on April 23, ASEAN foreign ministers and the US agreed to increase information and experience sharing, policy coordination and capacity building. Vietnamese media are reporting that Hanoi donated more than 1 million facemasks overseas (including to Western Europe, Russia and the US), as \u201can apparent sign of goodwill<\/a>\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n AUTHOR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr Lucy West, Senior Research Assistant, Griffith Asia Institute.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cambodia receives 16 tonnes of medical supplies from China![\"\"](\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/cambodia-1.jpg\")
Laos<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/malaysia.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Myanmar.jpg\")
Image Source: AFP<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/philipines.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/singapore.jpg\")
\nIndonesia’s President bans mudik
\nPhilippines extends lockdown in several provinces across Luzon
\nSingapore prepares temporary mega-structures to accommodate migrant workers
\nVietnam begins to ease COVID-19 restrictions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":7200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[247,1055,1056,1057,1],"tags":[1052,1093,991,934,355,369,417,1008,430,444],"class_list":["post-7199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indonesia-and-southeast-asia","category-economies-and-development","category-politics","category-security","category-uncategorized","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid19","tag-dr-lucy-west","tag-griffith-asia-institute","tag-laos","tag-myanmar","tag-singapore","tag-south-east-asia","tag-thailand","tag-vietnam"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"Jill Moriarty","yoast_head":"\n