A man covers his face with a piece of cloth as he cycles to transport goods during the lockdown in New Delhi, India, May 13, 2020.(Xinhua/Javed Dar)

Authorities in eastern India and Bangladesh were relocating tens of thousands of villagers away from the coastline on Tuesday ahead of a super cyclone that is expected to inflict large-scale damage as both countries struggle to contain the coronavirus.

Coronavirus quarantine shelters in India were being converted to cyclone shelters, leaving authorities to manage social distancing to try and prevent the spread of coronavirus.

In neighboring Bangladesh, officials were moving people to higher ground and urged them to maintain social distance and wear masks as the country has recorded over 20,995 coronavirus cases and 314 deaths so far.

India's weather office said the Super Cyclone Amphan had reached winds of up to 240 kilometers per hour with gusts of around 265 kilometers per hour over the Bay of Bengal on Monday night and was expected to make a landfall on Wednesday. Such wind speeds, according to weather officials, could make Amphan one of the biggest storms to hit India in about a decade.

The cyclone comes as India eased the world's biggest lockdown imposed in April to contain the coronavirus which has infected more than 100,000 people and killed 3,163.

The states of Odisha and West Bengal were moving families to more than 1,000 shelters in government offices and educational centers and were hastily converting coronavirus quarantine centers into cyclone shelters.