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Urgent vaccine strategy needed to stop Myanmar from becoming regional Covid epicentre

Neighbouring countries and international organisations are calling on Myanmar to start vaccinating at-risk groups to halt the spread of Covid-19 variants, which could make the country into a global pandemic epicentre.

Dr Zin Mar Aung, who serves as foreign minister for the country’s alternative government, quoted health experts as saying that the “worst is yet to come” for Myanmar.

Dr Emma Leslie, executive director of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies based in Phnom Penh, called for a “pragmatic and coordinated approach” as Myanmar is being hit by close to 1,000 deaths from the virus daily and 37 per cent of the 15,000 tests conducted daily are coming out positive.

“I can only underline the gravity of the situation and the need for urgent practical action should impress the Asean meeting and dialogues partners this week. It can no longer be business as usual because the situation percolating in Myanmar is like a tsunami coming to overtake the Asean region,” said Kobsak Chutikul, a former Thai ambassador.

Kobsak, Leslie and Zin Mar Aung were speaking via a zoom briefing on Monday organised by the Asia News Network, an alliance of 23 national media outlets in 20 Asian countries.

The event coincided with the first day of the Asean foreign ministers’ meeting, in which regional ministers spent five hours

wrangling in vain over the appointment of a special envoy to lead humanitarian aid to Myanmar.

At the briefing on Myanmar’s Covid-19 situation, Zin Mar Aung said: “We don’t want international organisations to pick sides but can engage both [the military-led] State Administration Council [SAC] and the NUG [National Unity Government].”

Meanwhile, Leslie cited China’s health strategy for Myanmar, where it is supplying vaccines to SAC as well as a million jabs directly to Kachin State.

“We know the Yunnan province is determined to try and stem Covid infections from going across the borders and all Yunnan governors and government administrators have been told that fighting Covid is their only priority in the next six months.

“We have to think of Myanmar as a patchwork quilt, with each patch being handled differently. There is not going to be one simple unified panacea for this. For instance, borders are not controlled by the Tatmadaw [Myanmar’s army]. We have to be pragmatic from outside looking in, … we have to go in from many angles and different relationship,” Leslie added.

She also urged Thailand to seriously consider administering vaccines to people in the buffer zone along the Thai-Myanmar borders. “[This is] not to treat the crisis in isolation. We know how much Thai people are suffering … but we need to contain it quickly so doesn’t become a massive regional crisis.

“But to do that is a complicated relationship which needs to be put in place. We look to Thai leadership for that. [Thailand] has the capacity and ability to mobilise vaccines. [It] has to be handled delicately and sensitively, making sure that Thai people are given the opportunity to be vaccinated,” she added.

Leslie saw the Thai Red Cross as part of the solution as they have the capacity to mobilise vaccines to the borders, where ethnic minorities like the Karen live.

“Asean should also be the coordinator for Myanmar’s border areas with Bangladesh and India,” she suggested.

Zin Mar Aung said that while Myanmar’s public health mechanism had responded reasonably well in the first and second Covid-19 waves, it has now collapsed totally with incoming variants.

The crisis is compounded by ongoing clashes between the military-led government and anti-coup protesters including some 700 doctors and nurses who have joined the Civil Disobedient Movement.

The NUG, set up as an alternative government and now outlawed by the junta, has established a central committee for prevention, treatment and control of Covid-19. It has reached out to international organisations for assistance and is supporting some 5 million people, she said.

“Due to the coup, Myanmar’s response to the Covid situation is quite difficult and different from other countries. Some of the people trying to get medical care have been arrested and doctors have been arrested as well. They used to operate clinics, but they are there no more. The military goes after them, arrests and confiscates medical equipment,” she said.

Kobsak said Myanmar borders both India and China – which is half of the world’s population. “Not to mentioned Bangladesh. The possibility of Myanmar becoming a global epicentre of the pandemic is very real and a danger for everyone across all borders.

“In this sense of urgency… the political process must be overlooked. Now all overtaken by events, we are behind the curve now, we have to act immediately, assistance has to go in. And everybody should see they have a vested interest in this.

“If not the tsunami will come and will sweep over and drown everybody else in the region,” he added.

Published : August 03, 2021

By : Asia News Network

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LGBT athletes shine at Tokyo Games, set sterling example for more inclusive society

A record number of athletes who openly identify as LGBT are competing at the Tokyo Games, which are being conducted under the banner of “diversity and harmony.”

Their inspiring showing at the Games has supporters cheering not only their athletic achievements, but also their contributions toward eliminating discrimination and prejudice against sexual minorities in a wider society that has been slower to embrace such individuals outside of the sporting arena.

■ Empowering example

“I feel incredibly proud to say that I’m a gay man and also an Olympic champion,” said Thomas Daley, 27, during a press conference after winning gold for Great Britain in the synchronized 10-meter platform dive on July 26.

Daley is married to a U.S. playwright. The couple has a 3-year-old son, who Daley has called “my biggest support.”

Olivier Fabre, a 54-year-old French journalist residing in Japan, was among many encouraged by Daley’s remarks. Fabre also works at “Pride House Tokyo Legacy,” a project launched in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, last October, with the aim of springboarding off the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games to spread information on the intersection of sports and the LGBT community.

Fabre, who has lived in Japan since childhood, felt unable to come out as gay when he was younger. It was not until he was nearly 30 that he felt at last ready to come out to those close to him, after encountering greater diversity in the world, when traveling back and forth between Japan and overseas on business.

“I was deeply moved to see that times have changed and gold medalists can now proudly articulate these things on a public stage,” said Fabre. “I think that it will give an encouraging boost to those who are still suffering silently.”

■ 179 athletes

According to “Outsports,” an online news platform focusing on LGBT issues, at least 179 openly LGBTQ athletes were competing in the Tokyo Games as of Sunday — triple the 56 known to have competed in the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016. Most of the out athletes are from North America and Europe.

The Tokyo Games are also the first to field an openly transgender athlete.

Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, 43, made history as the first Olympian to compete in an event under a different gender from the sex they were assigned at birth. After formerly competing in men’s weightlifting, Hubbard underwent sex reassignment surgery at the mid-30s age, and represented New Zealand in the women’s 87-kilogram category on Monday night.

Kyoko Raita, a professor at Chukyo University who researches sports and gender, said the International Olympic Committee revised its guidelines in 2004 to allow transgender athletes to compete, on the condition that they have undergone sex reassignment surgery and satisfy hormone eligibility requirements.

In 2015, the surgery clause was removed, said Raita, who also serves on the executive board of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

However, few athletes in Japan openly identify as LGBT.

Fumino Sugiyama, 39, a former member of Japan’s national women’s fencing team, came out as a transgender man only after retiring from the sport. Sugiyama recalled, “I worried whether the team and fencing association would be able to understand my being a sexual minority.”

■ Lasting legacy

The success of such athletes has larger ramifications for the LGBT community outside the sporting world. In a Lifenet Insurance Co. survey of about 10,000 sexual minorities conducted by Yasuharu Hidaka, a professor at Takarazuka University who specializes in social health, half of the teenage respondents reported experiencing bullying.

The survey also found that nearly 80% of the adults surveyed have been the target of discriminatory remarks at the workplace.

At Pride House Tokyo Legacy, messages from athletes and allies are on display as staff members offer consultations to members of the LGBT community on issues related to their careers and health.

“People have been saying they have nowhere to turn for advice, especially now that there are fewer opportunities for people to meet up and talk amid the pandemic,” said Gon Matsunaka, 45, head of Pride House Tokyo. “We would like to continue our activities even after the Games have ended, so that our society can become more understanding of LGBT issues.”

Published : August 03, 2021

By : Rei Sasaki/The Japan News/ANN

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Six Japan prefectures now under state of emergency through August 31

The government declared a state of emergency on Monday for the prefectures of Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa and Osaka, expanding to six the number of prefectures where such measures are currently in effect.

Also on the day, emergency-level COVID-19 priority measures were put into effect for Hokkaido, Ishikawa, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka prefectures.

All these measures are effective until Aug. 31. The central government is calling for the public to refrain from nonessential outings and to work from home, but the flow of commuters appeared mostly unchanged Monday morning at major stations in the four newly added prefectures.

On Sunday at the Prime Minister’s Office, senior Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry officials reported to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Japan’s current situation related to coronavirus infections.

In Chiba, Saitama and Osaka prefectures, restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages or offer karaoke are being asked to suspend operations, while other restaurants are requested to shorten business hours and close by 8 p.m.

Kanagawa Prefecture, which has implemented its own COVID-19 controls, will expand its measures throughout the prefecture, asking shops to shorten business hours and stop serving alcoholic beverages.

In areas under the priority measures, shops and restaurants must move up their closing times to 8 p.m. and stop serving alcoholic beverages in principle. Restaurants that meet certain requirements, such as implementing proper infection control measures, are allowed to serve alcohol until 7 p.m. at the discretion of their prefectural governor if infections in that prefecture are on a downward trend.

The prefectural governments will step up their monitoring of restaurants and call for the public not to drink on streets or in parks.

The central government is aiming for 40% of the population to receive a second dose of vaccine by the end of this month, and is encouraging young people to get vaccinated.

■ Foot traffic

Mobile phone data from NTT Docomo, Inc. showed that foot traffic at 7 a.m. Monday decreased by 4.3% at Umeda Station in Osaka and 3.8% at Chiba Station, compared to a week ago on July 26. The percentage increased by 0.9% at Yokohama Station and slightly at Omiya Station.

At Yokohama Station, a steady flow of commuters passed through the ticket gates on Monday morning.

“The number of people has not decreased at all even after the state of emergency,” said a 23 year-old company employee from Tokyo’s Minato Ward whose office is near the station. “I think the state of emergency has become less effective.”

A 53-year-old company employee from Kawasaki said: “The orders in the past were not effective enough. Once issued, a state of emergency should be continued until infections are significantly reduced. I want the government to put efforts into developing curative drugs, too.”

Osaka Station was also crowded with commuters.

“I got on the train after 10 a.m. using staggered work hours, but it was packed with commuters,” said a 69-year-old company employee from Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture.

A 40-year-old nurse from Naniwa Ward, Osaka, said: “I think many people no longer feel like refraining from going out. The medical system is in trouble. I hope the government will take measures that are more effective.”

People seeking to telework came to a hotel near Omiya Station on Monday morning. Reservations for a plan to stay at the hotel for up to 11 hours have increased in line with the spread of infections, with 120 people using the service in July.

The hotel had received five such reservations by 10 a.m. Monday. A hotel spokesperson said, “Now that a state of emergency has been declared, we’ll have more guests. We’ll provide rooms with thorough infection control.”

A restaurant near Chiba Station planned to stop its nighttime operations from Monday night and operate only during lunchtime.

“We have no choice but to keep labor costs down and operate frugally,” the restaurant’s owner said.

Published : August 03, 2021

By : The Japan News/ANN

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Politicizing virus-tracing jointly opposed

More international voices call for fair, objective COVID origin investigation

More than 300 political parties, organizations and think tanks from over 100 countries and regions submitted a joint statement on Monday to the World Health Organization Secretariat, rejecting the politicization of the COVID-19 origin study and calling for an objective, fair investigation.

Humanity lives in a community with a shared future and no country can survive major crises by itself, they said, calling for solidarity from the international community to fight the virus, which knows no boundaries or races.

However, they pointed out in the joint statement that the plan proposed by the WHO for the second phase of the origin-tracing investigation will not help to advance global cooperation on tracing the virus origins, as it is inconsistent with the resolution of the 73rd World Health Assembly, did not involve full consultation with member states, and failed to reflect the latest global research outcomes.

They called on the WHO Secretariat to carry out cooperation with member states, give full consideration to new scientific evidence and fully adopt suggestions made by the WHO-China joint report.

They also expressed support for medical experts and researchers conducting virus origin-tracing work in various countries and regions across the world in order to gain experience for preventing the next possible pandemic.

The joint statement also praised China and some other countries for actively providing vaccines to developing countries and called for capable countries to avoid restrictions on vaccine exports or hoarding.

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The joint statement was issued after nearly 70 countries expressed opposition to politicization of origin-tracing by writing letters to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, issuing statements and sending notes.

Politicians and experts in many countries also have expressed their rejection of attempts by certain countries, including the United States, to politicize COVID-19 origin-tracing, emphasizing that the study of the origin must be based on evidence and science.

Despite the WHO-China joint report issued in March that said a “lab leak” hypothesis was “extremely unlikely”, US politicians, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have still insisted on carrying out a virus origin probe in China.

In a statement issued on Friday, the African National Congress, South Africa’s ruling party, said that it supports science-based inquiries in tracing the virus’ origin of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, calls for global cooperation and decries politicization of such inquiries.

“Only when we unite can we truly defeat the virus,” it said.

Speaking at a virtual news briefing on Friday, Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that the government shuns politicization of anything related to COVID-19.

“Whatever is being politicized by certain leaders, by certain politicians, we leave it to them,” he was quoted by the Philippine News Agency as saying.

Usman Sarki, the former Nigerian deputy representative to the United Nations, told China Central Television on Friday that the US government is using the China card to address the domestic problems it faces amid the pandemic, instead of truly being interested in finding out the origin of the virus.

Published : August 03, 2021

By : MO JINGXI/China Daily/ANN

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Indian Navy task force in South China Sea, West Pacific for 2 months

A Task Force of the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet will proceed on over two months overseas deployment to Southeast Asia, the South China Sea, and the Western Pacific from early August.

The deployment of the Indian Navy ships seeks to underscore the operational reach, peaceful presence and solidarity with friendly countries towards ensuring good order in the maritime domain and to strengthen existing bonds between India and countries of the Indo-Pacific, a Navy statement said.

The deployment is in pursuit of India’s ‘Act East’ policy and to enhance military cooperation with friendly countries, it said.

The Indian Task Force comprises Guided Missile Destroyer Ranvijay, Guided Missile Frigate Shivalik, Anti-Submarine Corvette Kadmatt, and Guided Missile Corvette Kora.

The latter three ships are indigenously designed and are equipped with a versatile array of weapons and sensors, and are Made in India by defence shipyards.

During the deployment in the Indo Pacific, the ships are scheduled to participate in bilateral exercises with the Vietnamese Peoples’ Navy, the Republic of Philippines Navy, Republic of Singapore Navy (SIMBEX), and the Indonesian Navy (Samudra Shakti) and Royal Australian Navy (AUS-INDEX).

Further, they would also participate in multilateral exercise MALABAR-21 alongside the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force, the Royal Australian Navy and the United States Navy in Western Pacific.

The Indian Navy undertakes regular deployments to friendly foreign countries and Indian and the Pacific Ocean regions in furtherance of the Prime Minister’s initiative of ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region – SAGAR’, the statement said.

Further, such engagements build ‘Bridges of Friendship’ and strengthen international cooperation, it said, adding that these maritime initiatives enhance synergy and coordination between the Indian Navy and friendly countries, based on common maritime interests and commitment towards Freedom of Navigation at sea.

Besides regular port calls, the task group will operate in conjunction with friendly navies, to build military relations and develop interoperability in the conduct of maritime operations.

Published : August 03, 2021

By : The Statesman/ANN