Friday's 7.7-magnitude earthquake has left large cracks in roads and communication blackouts along the highway linking Myanmar's largest city of Yangon to its second-largest city of Mandalay.
A China Media Group (CMG) crew traveling on the Yangon-Mandalay highway on Saturday reported extensive damages to multiple road sections and a nearby rest area, as well as poor communication services. Road repair crews have been dispatched to the sites to restore traffic to normalcy.
In addition to highway damage, the once-busy rest area along the route is now largely deserted, with businesses forced to shut down. A restaurant has suspended indoor operations due to structural damage, leaving vendors to sell food and supplies on the roadside instead. Wi-Fi services are also down in the rest area.
Rescue teams from across the country are making their way toward the quake's epicenter to join in the relief efforts, CMG reported.
As of Saturday afternoon, the disaster has resulted in 1,007 deaths, 2,389 injuries, and multiple missing persons. The hardest-hit Mandalay region has reported 694 deaths and 1,670 injuries, with the casualty numbers expected to rise further, according to Myanmar's State Administration Council.
Myanmar earthquake leaves large cracks in roads, communication blackouts
Spanish health authorities on Friday identified a second monitored contact linked to the hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship MV Hondius after tracing a woman living in Catalonia who had shared a flight with a Dutch traveler died from the virus.
Spain's Center for Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies said the woman is asymptomatic and was initially missed during contact tracing because of a seat change on the aircraft.
According to health authorities, the woman now meets the criteria for monitored contact under a newly approved national surveillance protocol and will remain under medical observation.
This came after the suspected case of hantavirus detected in Alicante. Spanish Secretary of State for Health Javier Padilla said on Friday that the health authorities had taken relevant measures.
In addition, Padilla confirmed that all 14 Spanish passengers aboard the MV Hondius had agreed to undergo voluntary quarantine measures in order to minimize the risk of further transmission.
The Dutch-operated expedition cruise ship, currently heading toward Spain's Canary Islands, has so far been linked to three deaths.
Padilla said a team from the Spanish Health Ministry would travel to Tenerife on Saturday ahead of the ship's expected arrival on Sunday.
Passengers are expected to disembark by small boats before being transferred under strict isolation measures. Spanish citizens aboard the vessel will be transported to Madrid for quarantine observation.
The British Health Security Agency announced Friday that a suspected hantavirus case has been detected on the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, linked to the ongoing outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship.
The vessel stopped at Tristan da Cunha between April 13 and 15.
Spain identifies second suspected hantavirus case linked to cruise ship outbreak
