By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, Feb. 12: 14 elderly Tibetans have tested positive for COVID-19 at Jampaling Elders’ Home in Dharamshala’s McLeod Ganj. 12 cases were reported earlier and two more have been detected in the second round of tests obtained on Tuesday. One elderly man who had tested positive passed away today but it remains unclear if the deceased died from pre-existing conditions or coronavirus. The vicinity surrounding the Jampaling compound has been declared a red zone; Tibetans circumambulating the circuit road around the Dalai Lama’s residence will be closed for two weeks.
Joint Secretary of the Home Department in Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Tashi Dekyi told Phayul, “Two more elders have tested positive for COVID-19 after we tested 61 people on Sunday. During the first round of tests, 11 elders and 1 worker had tested positive.” The team has been unable to detect the origin of the outbreak as “occupants have remained indoors since the beginning of last year” and there have been no other reported case among the service-staffs.
The spokeswoman refuted the rumour of several deaths due to the coronavirus, “One person died on Saturday after we tested 50 people on Thursday. The deceased passed away due to his own health condition since he had tested negative for COVID-19. First, two elders were taken to Tanda hospital [in Kangra] due to their own health problems, and one who had tested positive died today [Tuesday] due to kidney failure but was admitted as a COVID-19 patient. As for the rumours, two elders who passed away earlier were bed-ridden patients.”
The Joint Secretary further remarked that the Tibetan administration is alarmed at the cluster of cases detected in the residential home, “The administration is definitely worried about the cases detected among the elderly as many suffer from pre-existing conditions like diabetes, blood pressure, and more. We are being extra careful as they are more vulnerable to get infected from the virus.” McLeod Ganj was sealed last month due to reports of 11 positive cases, which was immediately followed by a containment plan executed by Indian authorities.
The COVID-19 task force of the CTA, also known as the Tibetan government-in-exile, reported a total of 1,495 cases of Tibetans in the Indian subcontinent. As of Jan. 29, a total of 1,440 recovered cases, 17 active cases and 38 deaths have been reported. The Indian government data on Tuesday showed that the country recorded the lowest single-day rise in its tally in 8 months with 8,635 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours.
