VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The World Bank on Thursday (Apr 2) said it had approved an initial US$1.9 billion in emergency funds for coronavirus response operations in 25 developing countries, with more than half the aid earmarked to help fight the fast-spreading disease in India. Action on projects in scores of emerging market countries is expected in the coming days and weeks, the World Bank said. In addition, the bank said it was working to redeploy resources in existing World Bank financed projects worth up to US$1.7 billion. The bank has said it is prepared to spend up to US$160 billion over the next 15 months to combat the pandemic. World Bank Group President David Malpass said the institutional lender was moving quickly to strengthen the ability of developing countries to respond to the virus, and shorten the time to economic and social recovery//Reuters

China on Wednesday said it has more than 1,300 asymptomatic coronavirus cases, the first time it has released such data following public concern over people who have tested positive but are not showing symptoms.  As quoted by AFP.com (01/4), Health officials also reported the first imported case from abroad in Wuhan -- the epicentre where the virus first emerged late last year -- heightening fears of infections being brought into China from other countries. Of 36 new cases reported Wednesday, 35 were imported from abroad. The National Health Commission (NHC) said 1,367 asymptomatic patients were under medical observation, with 130 new cases added in the last day. The NHC announced Tuesday that it would respond "to public concerns" by starting to publish daily data on asymptomatic cases, which it said were infectious. There were mass calls online calls for the information after authorities revealed over the weekend that an infected woman in Henan province had been in close contact with three asymptomatic cases//AFP

The US Navy is evacuating thousands of sailors from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in Guam after its captain warned a coronavirus outbreak was threatening the lives of the crew. As quoted by AFP.com (02/4) Ninety-three COVID-19 cases have been discovered among the 4,800-strong Roosevelt crew so far, according to the US Navy. Pentagon officials said Wednesday they were rapidly arranging hotel rooms on the Pacific island for many of the crew, while organizing a skeleton team of uninfected sailors to keep the ship operational. Rear Admiral John Menoni, commander for the Marianas region, told reporters in Guam on Wednesday that the plan at this time is to remove as many people off the Teddy Roosevelt as the government can, understanding that we have to leave a certain amount of folks on-board to perform normal watch-standing duties that keep the ship running. Speaking in Washington, Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said that almost 1,000 of the crew had been removed, and the number would rise to 2,700 within a couple days, and more after that//AFP

As a leader in global health and humanitarian response to COVID-19, the United States (US) has acted swiftly to support ASEAN partners in combating the spread of the virus.According to a statement from the U.S. Mission to ASEAN received by Antara News Agency in Bekasi West Java, Wednesday, since the outbreak occurred, the US government has offered approximately US$18.3 million in emergency health and humanitarian assistance to ASEAN member states.Globally, as of March 26, 2020, the US has offered an initial investment of nearly $274 million in emergency health and humanitarian assistance to help countries in need, over and above the funding already provided to multilateral organizations, such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF//ANT