Typhoon Rai casts a shadow over the New Year for millions of Filipinos

The Philippines, the country with the most Catholics in Asia, started December much better than last year regarding the pandemic, But Typhoon Rai that hit the archipelago on the 16th has cast a shadow over Christmas and the New Year for millions of affected.

The entire country is at alert level 2 of the pandemic, which allows most activities and the opening of restaurants and other businesses, although with a capacity limitation of 50 percent and only for clients vaccinated against covid-19 .

“As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ with fervent prayers, Let’s do it this time with renewed faith and hope, especially as our nation continues to recover from the effects of Typhoon Odette (Rai) and the covid-19 pandemic, ″ said President Rodrigo Duterte in his Christmas message on the 23rd.

Authorities renewed alert level 2 on Thursday (from a maximum of 5) until January 15, while monitoring the increase in the omicron variant in the country, which has not yet reached contagion levels in Europe.

Many Filipinos celebrate Christmas with family meals and Catholic Masses, and with the deafening noise of firecrackers they will greet the year 2022. Typhoon Rai has been a severe blow, especially in the central region of the archipelago.

According to the latest published figures, at least 405 people died and 1,147 were injured due to the devastating typhoon, which also left more than 500,000 displaced, of which more than 175,000 are outside the reception centers.

Places most affected by Typhoon Rai in the Philippines

Mindanao, Siargao, Dinagat and Bolhol are some of the islands most affected by Rai, qthat left millions of homes without electricity, tore roofs, tore down concrete posts, and uprooted trees and wooden shacks.

The typhoon has damaged homes, infrastructure and valued agricultural crops in more than 23,400 million Philippine pesos (about 458 million dollars).

However, millions of Filipinos have been able to celebrate the holidays this year without the strict confinement to which they were subjected in December 2020, mainly in the metropolitan area of ​​Manila.

Infections have fallen from an average of 20,000 a day in September to about 270 a day these weeks, although everything can quickly get worse when the omicron variant spreads.

The Philippines, one of the countries most affected by the pandemic, accumulates 2.84 million cases, including 51,373 deaths, and has only vaccinated 43 percent of its population. (I)