VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

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The World Bank and International Monetary Fund will hold their annual Fall Meetings online in October because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, World Bank President David Malpass stated in a letter to the Bank's governors. As stated by Reuters (07/7) Malpass also encouraged those countries that are considering appointing new executive directors to represent them on the Bank's boards to factor gender diversity into their decisions. He said Only five of 25 current directors are women. The decision to meet virtually, rather than in person in Washington, was widely expected given rising infections in the United States, and continuing travel restrictions. The two international finance institutions also held their Spring Meetings online in April, and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and other officials have said they expect to shift more of their work to virtual meetings in the future//Reuters

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Australian officials were scrambling on Tuesday to implement a travel permit system before closing the heavily trafficked border between its two most populous states as it attempts to contain a coronavirus outbreak in the city of Melbourne. As stated by Reuters (07/7) the state line between New South Wales and Victoria is due to close at 11.59 p.m. on Tuesday for the first time in 100 years. The highly porous border, with 55 roads, is travelled daily by commuters and school children, while some businesses straddle both sides. New South Wales is issuing daily crossing permits for residents on both sides of the border, but Premier Gladys Berejiklian has acknowledged there could be a delay, although she hoped the permits would be ready before the closure//Reuters

photo : reuters 

China's Sinovac Biotech is starting Phase III trials of its potential coronavirus vaccine in Brazil, it said on Monday, becoming one of three companies to move into the late stages in the race to develop an inoculation against the disease. As stated by Reuters (07/7) it follows a fast-track approval for the trials by Brazilian regulators last week. Sinovac stated the study, which will be done in partnership with Brazilian vaccine producer the Instituto Butantan, would recruit nearly 9,000 healthcare professionals working in COVID-19 specialised facilities and start this month. AstraZeneca's experimental COVID-19 vaccine, developed by researchers at the University of Oxford, and China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) are the only other candidates in late-stage Phase III trials. Moderna also plans to start its late-stage trial this month. Sinovac initiated the development of the vaccine candidate in late January and is preparing a coronavirus vaccine plant, which it hopes will be ready this year and capable of making up to 100 million shots a year//Reuters

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Covid-19, a new genetic variation of the coronavirus seems to be dominant in the world. As stated by Reuters (07/7) a new genetic variation of the new coronavirus seems to dominant in the world.It infects human cells more easily than the original that emerged in China, according to a new study published in the journal Cell. Anthony Fauci, the United States's top infectious disease specialist said that he thinks the data is showing that there is a single mutation that actually makes the virus be able to replicate better, and maybe have high viral loads. The variant is a spike protein called "D614G" which is used by the virus to invade and infect the human cells but this hasn't yet been proven//Reuters