Himachal reports first possible COVID-19 death, Tibetans launch helpline for elders amid lockdown
DHARAMSALA, 23 March: Tibetans in the exile headquarter here in Mcleod Ganj have launched a helpline number for the elderly people as Himachal Pradesh has been placed under lock down and it reported first causality to the COVID-19 pandemic.
LHA Charitable Trust(LHA), a local Tibetan NGO has joined force with the Tibetan Settlement Office(TSO) here and launched two help line numbers for elders to reach out for help and assistance.
With regard to the orders from the Kangra District Deputy Commissioner that bars elders completely from going outside their home and others except for essential purposes, LHA and TSO have launched the numbers-8351930708(TSO-Kunchok Migmar) and 9882646788(LHA- Dorjee kyi- to help those elderly people who don’t have someone helping them to buy their essentials such as rations, vegetables and medicines.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur announced the lockdown of the entire state in the Assembly earlier today.
So far, Himachal reported two COVID-19 positive cases while an another has died today allegedly due to the infection.
Media reports said a Tibetan man who had returned from the US has died in Kangra, after possible symptoms of coronavirus.
“We have found the patient positive for Covid-19 in the preliminary reports,” the TOI quoted chief medical officer of Kangra Gurdarshan Gupta as saying in its report.
His samples have been further sent to the National Institute of Virology at Pune for further reports, the report added.
The Tibetan man had reportedly came to Dharamsala from Delhi through a taxi after landing there from the US.
According to worldometers.com, there are 372,594 COVID-19 cases across the world which have resulted in 16,313 deaths while 101,373 of those infected have recovered.
The number of COVID-19 positive active cases in India has climbed to 365 as of Monday. Further, it has been confirmed that 7 people have died of the infection in the country.
