VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

South Africa will allow entry of visitors from all countries in a bid to boost its tourism and hospitality sector, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday.

South Africa, the continent's most developed economy, has seen an increase in infections since loosening lockdown restrictions in September to their lowest level.

With more than 740,000 cases of COVID-19 and at least 20,000 deaths, South Africa currently has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa.

Ramaphosa, in a televised national address, said normal trading hours for alcohol would be restored as well. Alcohol sales were previously capped at the weekend in a bid to ease pressure on hospitals for alcohol-related accidents.

"We also open international travel from all countries by complying with the necessary health protocols and submitting negative COVID-19 certificates," he said.

"By using rapid testing and close monitoring, we aim to limit the spread of infection from imported cases," he added.

"We hope that these steps will be of great help to businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector."

However, Ramaphosa warned of a potential resurgence in infections, saying the number of new cases in the Eastern Cape province was 50 percent higher than in the previous week, with higher infection rates also seen in the Northern Cape and Western Cape regions.

"We have also seen in other countries how the re-emergence of COVID-19 can crush hopes for a speedy economic recovery," he said.

The president did not provide further details or a specific date for reopening. A presidential spokesman could not be reached for comment.

South Africa opened its borders to some international tourists in early October after imposing a six-month ban. At the time, however, restrictions were placed on visitors from high-risk countries, with the latest list including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, Brazil, and India.

South Africa is heavily dependent on tourism, which before the pandemic accounted for nearly nine percent of gross domestic product and employed more than four percent of the workforce.

The economy was already in recession before the pandemic hit, and one of the world's toughest lockdowns has exacerbated woes. Millions of its citizens have lost their jobs or are increasingly pushed into poverty. (Antaranews)

Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Lyudmila Vorobyova again emphasized Russia's readiness to cooperate with Indonesia in the development of the Covid-19 vaccine.

She said in a press statement delivered virtually, Wednesday, in Jakarta, that a number of companies from Indonesia had expressed interest in working with Russia to develop a vaccine.

She also reiterated Russia's stance in supporting Indonesia in pushing for equal rights for all countries in the world to get access to the Covid-19 vaccine.

"I would like to reiterate that Russia is ready to cooperate with Indonesia in producing and distributing the vaccine," the ambassador said.

"We support the stand of Indonesia that all small or large countries should have equal access to the anti-corona virus vaccine and we are ready to cooperate with Indonesia in this area," she said.

"Our proposal is already tabled to the relevant authorities of Indonesia. Some of the companies in Indonesia have shown interest and there are talks and consultations going on," Vorobyva added.

Lyudmila Vorobyva said that the Russian Sputnik V vaccine had been registered with the World Health Organization (WHO).

Russia claims that they are the first country to register their vaccine with WHO.

Lyudmila said that currently, Sputnik V has entered the final clinical trial stage involving more than 40 thousand people and Russia is ready to carry out mass vaccinations.

Apart from Sputnik V, currently, Russian vaccine manufacturers are also developing 2 other types of vaccines, namely Vector Vaccine and EpiVac. (VOI)

The Ministerial Conference on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (RCEP) has completed RCEP negotiations.

As many as ministers RCEP attended the meeting including five participating ASEAN countries.

"The RCEP negotiations that have been going on for eight years are a difficult journey. All RPCs have completed negotiations on this agreement and will sign this RCEP agreement on Sunday," said Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry Malaysia, Dato 'Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali in his statement in Putrajaya, Wednesday.

He said the RCEP agreement was a very important agreement for ASEAN which would prove to the world that ASEAN's joint efforts in strengthening the world trade system in various directions and efforts to uphold the development agenda under the WTO.

"The success of this agreement will be evidence to the world that ASEAN rejects trade measures of protection and instead supports world free trade," he said.

If this agreement is signed this Sunday, he said, this will give a positive signal to the world that Malaysia together with other RPCs chooses to open the market and not instead use protective measures in the current challenging times.

"This agreement is in line with the government's announcement during the announcement of the 2021 Budget Plan to help revive the economic sector in Malaysia," he said.

He stressed that the agreement would enhance regional economic integration with a double impact on the economy.

"This includes opening up market opportunities to nearly a third of the world's population that will benefit businessmen and traders. In addition, the agreement will standardize trade-related rules and standards, including non-tariff measures, which can assist in cross-border trade," he said.

Malaysia is also confident that this agreement could be a catalyst for economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is in line with the aspirations of the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework (ACRF), under the Strategy for Maximizing the Potential of Intra-ASEAN Market and Broader Integration," he said. (Antaranews)

Pfizer Inc's PFE.N experimental COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90% effective based on initial trial results, the drugmaker said on Monday, a major victory in the war against a virus that has killed over a million people and battered the world's economy.

Scientists, public health officials, and investors welcomed the first successful interim data from a large-scale clinical test as a watershed moment that could help turn the tide of the pandemic if the full trial results pan out. However, mass roll-outs, which needs regulatory approval, will not happen this year and several vaccines are seen as necessary to meet massive global needs.

Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE 22UAy.F said they had found no serious safety concerns yet and expected to seek U.S. emergency use authorization this month, raising the chance of a regulatory decision as soon as December.

If granted, the companies estimate they can roll out up to 50 million doses this year, enough to protect 25 million people, and then produce up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.

“Today is a great day for science and humanity,” said Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla, noting the data milestone comes with “infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen.”

Experts said they wanted to see the full trial data, but the preliminary results looked encouraging.

“This news made me smile from ear to ear. It is a relief to see such positive results on this vaccine and bodes well for COVID-19 vaccines in general,” said Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases at the University of Oxford.

There are still many questions, such as how effective the vaccine is by ethnicity or age and how long immunity may last.

“But the bottom line is, as a vaccine it’s more than 90% effective, which is extraordinary,” top U.S. infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN.

Pfizer expects to seek U.S. emergency use authorization for people aged 16 to 85. To do so, it will need two months of follow-up safety data to assure no side effects crop up. That is expected to be available in the third week of November.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said it would take several weeks for U.S. regulators to receive and process the data before a potential approval. (Reuters)