Millions of people were being moved to safety as one of the fiercest cyclones in years barrelled towards India and Bangladesh on Tuesday, but with evacuation plans complicated by coronavirus precautio
ns.
Junior disaster management minister Enamur Rahman said Tuesday that they have already evacuated several thousand people from low-lying areas.To ensure social distancing in view of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of cyclone shelters has been doubled by using schools, with masks compulsory, Rahman said.Yamin Chowdhury, an official in Bangladesh's Barisal province, said the coast guard was helping to bring back thousands of people from remote islands.
"There is limited space in existing evacuation shelters and people who have been on COVID-19 lockdown might hesitate to leave their less-sturdy homes to go to a central –- and possibly crowded –- shelter." "Authorities are also supplying masks and sanitisers and making arrangements so that they can maintain safe distance from each other," he said.
"We will evacuate more people depending on the situation. No one will be allowed to stay in huts with thatched roofs in coastal areas," Jena said.
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