COVID-19: CTA reports 636 new cases 18 deaths in the last week
DHARAMSALA, 21 May: The COVID- 19 Task Force of the Central Tibetan Administration reported a new weekly high of 636 new cases and 18 deaths among exiled Tibetans in India and Nepal in the past week as India continues to battle the deadly second wave of the pandemic.
“A total of 636 exiled Tibetans tested positive for the COVID-19 in the last week while 18 Tibetans have passed away due to the infection,” Dr Tsering Tsamchoe said during the committee’s weekly briefing.
Tests were conducted on 2,453 Tibetans this week, out of which 2,441 Tibetans are from 21 settlements in India and 12 from 3 settlements in Nepal.
Dr Tsamchoe further informed that a total of 1,533 exiled Tibetans from 25 Tibetan settlements in India and 7 from Nepal were under quarantine this week. Of the lot, 793 are under home quarantine while 740 are under institutional quarantine.
The tally now stands at 4013 COVID-19 positive cases to date out of which 2388 have recovered while 101 people have succumbed with 1524 active cases.
With the health care system of the CTA being no exception as the Coronavirus pandemic has overwhelmed and overburdened the health infrastructure across the world, Jampa Phuntsok, the Additional Secretary of the CTA’s Health Department said that efforts are still on from the administration to tackle the pandemic.
He further called for collective efforts, caution, and vigilance from the community to overcome the virus. “It is now time for collective effort to fight the pandemic rather than expecting and waiting for what the administration and the NGOs will do. Now is the time to think how best one can contribute to collectively fight and contain the pandemic.”
The committee also thanked Tibetans, both individuals, and organizations as well as friends and well-wishers of Tibetan people who have generously contributed and provided their services to the Tibetan community.
Since the beginning of India’s vaccination drive on 16th January 2021, so far, 16,699 Tibetans have been vaccinated of which 1,330 are frontline warriors, the committee said.
