VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A passenger sits on her luggage watching passenger airplanes parked on the tarmac after all flights were canceled at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China, Sunday, July 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) - 

Chinese commercial hub Shanghai and neighbouring coastal regions cancelled all flights, slowed or suspended subway trains and shuttered businesses as Typhoon In-fa made landfall on Sunday (Jul 25).

The typhoon landed in the Putuo district of the city of Zhoushan, a major port in the east coast province of Zhejiang, at 12.30pm on Sunday, state broadcaster CCTV said, citing the China Meteorological Administration.

The storm hit as central China is still reeling from record flooding that killed at least 58, cut off power and forced the relocation of more than 1 million people.

"We will make every effort to ensure the safety of people's lives and property, and do everything to minimise disaster losses, and strive to achieve the goal of no deaths and few injuries and economic losses," said Yuan Jiajun, the Zhejiang province Communist Party secretary, during an inspection of preparations on Saturday, official media reported.

The Meteorological Administration earlier said the typhoon was moving at a speed of 15kmh.

In-fa's wind speeds were up to 38m per second, the Meteorological Administration said. That is equal to about 137kmh, according to Reuters calculations.

It was due to travel north along the Zhejiang coast from around noon, passing Shanghai and reaching northeastern Jiangsu province by the evening.

The Zhejiang emergency management department upgraded its typhoon response to the highest level on Saturday, closing schools and markets, and suspending road traffic when necessary.

The Shanghai government said it would slow its subway trains, while Hangzhou authorities warned residents that underground trains would be suspended.

Flooding in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou last week killed 12 people who were trapped in the subway system.

Shanghai Disneyland will close on Sunday and Monday because of the weather, the resort announced, while the city's Yangshan Port has evacuated hundreds of vessels, the official Xinhua news agency reported//CNA

Malaysia health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah. (File photo: Bernama) - 

The first highly effective direct-acting antiviral (DAA) drug Sofosbuvir (used in combination with another DAA) had been approved in the United States since 2013. 

The US$84,000 (RM356,000) 12-week treatment was the price of a medium-cost apartment in Kuala Lumpur.

Ravidasvir hydrochloride, available as Ravida Tablet 200mg, had been given conditional approval by the Malaysian Drug Control Authority on Jun 4. Malaysia was the first country in the world to approve its use.

The development of Ravidasvir was initiated by Malaysia’s Ministry of Health and the Geneva-based Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi). The clinical studies were funded by Malaysian and Thailand health authorities, as well as other agencies, companies and organisations.

The development of Ravidasvir is the latest episode of Malaysia’s success story in making access to hepatitis C treatment possible.

Touted as the best combination therapy thus far, Health Ministry director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said it is possible to get a 12-week treatment using Ravidasvir and a generic version of Sofosbuvir at a cost of US$100 by getting it produced locally. This is cheaper than the current US$300 Daclatasvir-Sofosbuvir combination.

Patients with HIV co-infection require only a 12-week course compared with the 24-week Daclatasvir-Sofosbuvir, he said in a press conference on Jun 14.

Initial findings published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology on Apr 15 revealed that the Ravidasvir-Sofosbuvir combination showed a 97 per cent efficacy in curing 301 patients with chronic hepatitis C infection in Malaysia and Thailand between Sep 14, 2016 and Jun 5, 2017. 

“Ravidasvir plus Sofosbuvir has the potential to provide an additional affordable, simple, and efficacious public health tool for large-scale implementation to eliminate hepatitis C as a cause of morbidity and mortality,” said the report.

To improve access, the health ministry carried out a nationwide decentralisation of hepatitis C diagnosis and treatment to community clinics, which made it accessible even for patients in rural areas.

The ministry worked with the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics to introduce an antibody rapid diagnostic test kit and over 10,000 patients had been treated since March 2018, he said.

The ministry and the Malaysian AIDS Council would embark on a study on hepatitis C self-testing after the WHO launched the first hepatitis C self-testing guidelines on Jul 15//CNA

President Joko Widodo. (ANTARA/BPMI Setpres/pri) - 

President Joko Widodo has congratulated Indonesian weightlifter Windy Cantika Aisah for winning the first medal for the Red White team at the Tokyo Olympics.

“From homeland, I would like to congratulate (Windy Cantika Aisah),” Widodo posted on his Instagram handle @jokowi on Saturday.

Aisah, who competed in the 49-kg class, bagged the bronze medal after recording a total lift of 194 kg, with 84 kg in snatch and 110 kg in clean and jerk, according to the official Olympics record.

“Good news comes from Tokyo. Today, Indonesian women’s weightlifter, Windy Cantika Aisah, presented the first medal at Tokyo Olympics by grabbing bronze medal in 49 kg class,” Widodo wrote in his post.

Aisah was the first from the Red White team to win a medal while competing at the Tokyo International Forum.

Chinese lifter Hou Zhihui took the gold medal with a total lift of 210 kg (94 kg in snatch and 116 kg in clean and jerk ).

Meanwhile, Indian lifter Chanu Mirabai secured the silver medal after recording a total lift of 202 kg, with 87 kg in snatch and 115 kg in clean and jerk.

In her debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Aisah failed in her first attempt lifting 84 kg in snatch. She was able to lift 84 kg of barbel in her second attempt.

Unfortunately, she failed again when trying to add the lift to 87 kg in the third attempt. But, she managed to lift clean and jerk in three chances. 

The 19-year-old athlete easily lifted 103 kg, 108 kg, and 110 kg to secure a bronze medal for Indonesia//ANT

Head of Jakarta's Indonesian Pediatrician Assoication (IDAI) Rini Sekartini during an online seminar titled "Optimizing Children's Growth Early", Saturday (July 24, 2021). (ANTARA/Livia Kristianti/FR) - 

Parents should not allow their children to access electronic gadgets until they are two years of age, so they do not experience speech delay, Jakarta's Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI) Head Rini Sekartini stated.

Sekartini explained that early exposure to gadgets, especially without parental supervision, may hinder the child’s speech development.

"Children (especially toddlers) should not be left alone with a gadget. You can say that gadget is an enemy since it was found that on average, children exposed to gadgets tended to experience speech delays. Hence, I advise parents to not give their children a gadget until they are two years of age," Head of Jakarta's IDAI stated during an online seminar titled "Optimizing Children's Growth Early" on Saturday.

Sekartini noted that from birth up to two years of age is a period of golden age, deemed an optimal time for child development.

According to Mother and Children's Health (KIA) Book published by the Ministry of Health, one of the indicators of successful child development is clear speech by the time they are two years of age.

However, Sekartini pointed to times when busy parents allow their children to use gadgets to silence them, but this could hinder their growth and be causal to speech delay.

Moreover, Sekartini suggested parents to monitor the development of their children by using the guidelines in the KIA Book.

If parents found that their children did not fulfill several criteria of successful growth listed in the KIA Book, then they should immediately consult with a pediatrician for further intervention//ANT