Filipinos face volcano, virus threats

Double danger A man feeding fish in front of a hill coated with layers of ash from the Taal volcano in Agoncillo, Batangas province as thousands of people are evacuated from around the rumbling volcano near the Philippine capital. — AP

THOUSANDS of people are being evacuated from villages around a rumbling volcano near the Philippine capital, but officials say they face another dilemma of ensuring emergency shelters will not turn into epicentres of Covid-19 infections.

The alert was raised to three on a five-level scale after Taal Volcano blasted a dark gray plume into the sky on Thursday.