Covid-19 Tragedy: Plane carrying medical supplies crashes, explodes

In its effort to contain the spread of Covid-19, Japan had to cope with another calamity that hampered the containment effort.

A chartered plane carrying coronavirus medical supplies crashed during takeoff at the Manila International Airport, Philippines, en route to Haneda on Sunday.

All the eight people on board died in the crash.

The aircraft belongs to Lion Air, a charter service company in the Philippines.

Tokyo Gov Yuriko Koike warned that the capital was entering “an important phase in preventing an explosive rise in the number of infections.”

He asked the 14 million people living in the city to stay at home over the weekend.

Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, also warned the country was getting closer to a national emergency.

The government has yet to  lock down the country.