COVID-19 weekly briefing: CTA reports 39 positive cases, 3 deaths 

Deputy Secretary of Health Department Tenzin Kunsang,(L) Dr Tsering Tsamchoe(C) and Dr Tenzin Namdol(R) from the COVID- 19 Task Force of the CTA.

DHARAMSALA, 3 Dec:  The COVID- 19 Task Force of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) reported 39 new positive cases among exiled Tibetans in India and Nepal over the past seven days.

A total of  39 COVID-19 positive cases and 3 deaths- two from India and 1 from Nepal- were reported among exile Tibetans in India and Nepal in the last seven days after testing 378 Tibetans from 13 Tibetan settlements in India and 1 Tibetan settlement in Nepal,” Dr Tsering Tsamchoe said during the committee’s weekly briefing.

The cases, Dr Tsamchoe said were reported from Tibetan settlements in Mundgod, Bylakuppee, Dekyiling, Clement Town, Ladakh and Nepal(Jorpati).

Dr Tsamchoe stated at the briefing that a total of 121 exiled Tibetans from 8 Tibetan settlements in India and 1 from Nepal were under quarantine.

While 32 of them are under home quarantine, another 89 are under institutional quarantine.

The tally now stands at 6,935  COVID-19 positive cases to date, 6,714 recoveries, 162 deaths and 59 active cases.

Deputy Secretary of Health Department Tenzin Kunsang appraised the public about the COVID-19 New Variant Omicron which the World Health Organisation has deemed a cause for real concern and warned Tibetans against complacency. 

 With the festival seasons around the corner, she urged the Tibetans to not let their guards down and continue to exercise caution by following the standard guidelines by wearing masks, keeping social distancing, and washing hands regularly. 

Meanwhile, the vaccination rate of Tibetans in Nepal stands at 6,980 Tibetans completely vaccinated and 48 Tibetans partially vaccinated.

Additionally, 46,140 Tibetans in India are fully vaccinated while 4,069 Tibetans have received the first dose. 

She further said that the committee has held meetings with all the frontline workers to arrange for the vaccination of children aged 2-18 as India currently sits on the doorstep of vaccinating children against the COVID-19.

So far, 4 Tibetan Children below 18 were administered the Pfizer vaccine in Nepal, the committee said.

With information scarce on the new Omicron variant, Delek hospital’s Dr Tenzin Namdol from the committee urged the Tibetans to be cautious and to take every necessary precaution and to continue to exercise caution, avoid social gatherings and crowds.

Since its outbreak in Wuhan in late 2019, the pandemic has infected 264,261,428 people and killed 5,235,680 people globally according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

India now stands as the 14th worst-hit country by the pandemic in the world with 34,615,757 cases to date and 470,115 deaths. 

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