Virus hampers efforts to help evacuate tens of thousands hit by typhoon
Jipapad is a town in the typhoon’s path which is prone to landslides and flooding. The town in Eastern Samar province is surrounded by mountains and two rivers that often swell in storms.
The only evacuation centres for its 8,000 villagers are a gymnasium and the town hall where residents could be sheltered from the typhoon.
The town’s mayor Benjamin Ver, who is also its only doctor, said he had secured enough face masks to protect his villagers from the virus in the town hall.
Mr Ver said observing social distancing is “almost impossible” in emergencies if all the villagers are cramped in the town hall.
The typhoon swept through overnight without reports of major damage.
Meanwhile, Japan has pushed ahead with relaxing its state of emergency in most regions, not including Tokyo, Osaka and a few other districts.
And there was good news from China, where the virus first appeared and where no deaths have been reported in a month.
The country confirmed four new cases linked to previous ones in Jilin, in the northeast.
Increasingly opening up from widespread shutdowns in February and March, China has maintained social distancing precautions and bans on foreigners entering the country.
Its leaders have signalled their confidence with plans to hold the annual session of the communist-ruled country’s ceremonial legislature later this month.
Elsewhere, the trends were more troubling.
Mexico reported its largest one-day rise so far in coronavirus cases, with 2,409 confirmed, as health officials said the country was facing “the most difficult” moment in the pandemic.
It was the first time in Mexico that the number of new cases has exceeded 2,000 in one day. The country has recorded 4,477 deaths.
The increase in cases Thursday came just four days before key industries such as mining, construction and car assembly were due to reopen.
Colombian President Ivan Duque has ordered all residents of the Amazonas Department, near the border with Brazil, to stay inside except to buy food or get medical care.
Local hospitals are being overwhelmed as cases rise in a vulnerable part of the Amazon, home to many indigenous groups.
“The Amazon rainforest needs your help,” teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg said in an online video seeking assistance for Manaus, Brazil’s biggest city in the vast region.
According to official data, 809 peo