COVID-19: CTA reports 24 new positive cases, 1 death
DHARAMSALA, 10 Sept: The COVID- 19 Task Force of the Central Tibetan Administration(CTA) reported 24 new COVID-19 positive cases and 1 death among exiled Tibetans in India in the past week.
A total of 24 exiled Tibetans tested positive for the COVID-19 in the last week while 1 Tibetan has passed away due to the infection after tests were conducted on 849 Tibetans from 4 different Tibetan settlements in Nepal and 13 Tibetan settlements in India,” Dr Tsering Tsamchoe said during the committee’s weekly briefing.
Dr Tsamchoe further informed that a total of 1,039 exiled Tibetans from 14 Tibetan settlements in India and 6 from Nepal were under quarantine this week. While 705 of them are under home quarantine, another 34 are under institutional quarantine.
Last week, the committee reported 71 positive cases and one death among exiled Tibetans in India.
The tally now stands at 6,270 COVID-19 positive cases to date out of which 6,071 have recovered while 150 people have succumbed with 49 active cases.
Most of the active cases are reported from Hunsur, Mundgod, Bylakuppee, and Miao Tibetan settlement, the committee said and added that the delegates of the central COVID-19 emergency Task-Force of the CTA had visited most of the Tibetan settlements across India to see how prepared the community is in case of yet another outbreak of COVID-19- the third wave of the pandemic and to hold meetings and discussions with the frontline workers and volunteers on the precautionary measures that need to be taken.
Dr Tsamchoe further urged Tibetans to continue to exercise caution and not let their guars down as the threat of the third wave of the pandemic looms large over the Indian subcontinent.
The committee said that 91.88 per cent of exiled Tibetans in India have been vaccinated. A total of 31,561 Tibetans in India are fully vaccinated while nearly the same number of Tibetans have received the first dose.
The vaccination rate of Tibetans in Nepal stands at 45.59 per cent.
A total of 3,191 Tibetans are fully vaccinated and 533 partially vaccinated.
With hospitals some hours away and settlement hospitals without doctors, Dr Tenzin Tsundue from Delek Hospital who has just returned from a visit to the Tibetan settlements in North-east India called on the Tibetans to get tested at the earliest as he says this will ensure effective treatment and improve the chances of overcoming the COVID-19.
He further urged Tibetans to get vaccinated and to continue with the cautions such as wearing masks, maintaining social distancing which is easy to follow and effective to fight and contain the COVID- 19.