Guam

Guam's health department has tested dozens of people since the first cases on the island were confirmed on Sunday night.

Tuesday's cases include a relative of one of those confirmed to have the virus on Sunday, and another person who recently travelled to the Philippines.

All five confirmed cases are in isolation.

Suspected cases

The Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia say they both have one person each under investigation for Covid-19.

Countries around the Pacific are continuing to further isolate themselves in a bid to stave off a rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the region.

Six cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in the Pacific - three in Guam and three in French Polynesia - since Thursday. No new cases were declared on Monday.

After three residents were confirmed to have Covid-19 on Sunday, Guam's government restricted public gatherings and closed all public schools on Monday. It also closed government offices for two weeks.

Governor Lou Leon Guerrero has declared a state of public health emergency in the US territory, which is also a hub for travel in the North Pacific.

"All three confirmed cases are currently in isolation," Ms Guerrero said in a statement.

"Preliminary investigation has indicated that all three had travel connections - two recently travelled to the Philippines and the third had a family member who recently returned from Japan."

The two who travelled from the Philippines were on a United Airlines flight from Manila on 2 March.

Schools and universities in the two US territories will be closed today as the storm approaches.

Forecasters say on the current trajectory it will make a direct hit on northern Guam and CNMI's Rota island.

The CNMI Governor Ralph Torres has raised the alert for the typhoon to condition 2.

Typhoon Mangkhut is forecast to bring destructive winds of 74 miles per hour or more possible within the next 24 hours.

Mr Torres has activated essential government agencies like the police, hospital, airports, and seaports.

The National Weather Service says the volcanic haze is expected to linger across the region for much of the week.

It says it will decrease periodically due to developing showers but the Easterly tradewinds will continue to funnel the haze towards the Micronesian islands and reduce visibility there.

The service says while the haze is not expected to cause widespread health problems, if people suffer from respiratory health issues then they should limit outdoor activities.

The blue-grey haze first impacted the island in May before dissipating.

After a summit in Singapore on Tuesday, the two leaders signed an agreement to work towards the "complete denuclearisation" of the Korean Peninsula although observers say it is short on detail.

Mr Calvo said the agreement will end years of instability in Korea and the Pacific region.

He said the people of Guam have experienced suffering and death during World War Two and were the target of North Korean missile threats in 2013 and last year.

He said the promise of peace in the region was closer and said Guam's thankful for the president's stance.

The National Weather Service in Guam says residents should continue to monitor information from their service as well as the local emergency management offices.

It says people with respiratory health problems should minimise time outdoors when the haze is evident.

Mariners and pilots have also been warned to be aware of the slightly lower visibility.

Satellite imagery shows a dense plume of haze spanning the central Pacific that becomes more diffused closer to the Marianas.

The haze is being carried along by the east-northeast trade winds.

The Catholic Church on the island has been consumed by a child sex abuse scandal that went right to the top of the church's hierarchy: Archbishop Anthony Apuron.

Apuron was accused of assaulting altar boys when he was a parish priest on Guam in the 1970s.

When the allegations first surfaced in June 2016, Pope Francis suspended Apuron and put his before a secretive Vatican procedure.

In its ruling issued overnight, the Apostolic Tribunal stripped Apuron of office and prohibited him from returning to Guam.

The recent Diabetes Conference revealed that Guam's pre-diabetes rates are up around 17 per cent for 2017.

Ronald Laguana attended the Pacific Nutrition meeting run by the Pacific Community last week and blames products imported from the U.S. for the alarming statistic.

Mr Laguana said he is part of a community gardens group that helps educate people on a healthy diet and lifestyle.

In one case Archbishop Anthony Apuron is alleged to have encouraged prayer as a way of getting over repeated abuse by a priest.

A former altar boy who alleges he was sexually abused by a now defrocked priest Raymond Cepeda for eight years in the 1990s is seeking US$5 million in damages.

He claims when he reported the abuse to Archbishop Apuron and another priest in 1999 he was "shunned away".

Meanwhile Pacific Daily News reports a now-deceased priest Monsignor Jose Guerrero has been added to the list of clergy accused of abusing children.