By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, June 8: The minister of the Health wing of the Central Tibetan Administration, Choekyong Wangchuk on Monday said that the number of Tibetans in India with Covid-19 has reached 10, with all the cases from or with travel history to Delhi.
Minister Wangchuk who is in the CTA’s COVID-19 task force, said there has been a total of 10 cases in the Tibetan community in India of which 4 have completely recovered; 5 active cases and 1 death. The active cases include a 63-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man from Dalhousie, a 12-year-old student from Tuting and two Tibetans from Delhi including a 65-year-old woman and 43-year-old man. All the cases outside of Delhi have travel history to Delhi, one of the worst hit regions in India.
The four recovered include a nurse from Delhi and three individuals from one family in Delhi. Last week a 62-year-old man from Delhi passed and was later discovered to be infected with the virus. Four of his contacts have been tested and are awaiting results, sources said.
The Delhi man is officially the second Tibetan person in India to pass away from Covid-19, although the Tibetan man from Dharamshala declared a Covid-19 patient by authorities here, is disputed as none of his family members who were in close contact for days until his death, tested positive for the virus, raising questions over the validity of his status as a Covid-19 patient.
India has seen sharp rise in cases following its lax on interstate travel. Here at the seat of the exile Tibetan government, President Dr. Lobsang Sangay has urged Tibetans to observe caution and restrict unnecessary travelling for the months ahead.
As of Monday, Delhi’s Covid-19 toll passed the 27 thousand mark with 761 dead. India is the fifth country with most cases with more than 257 thousand cases and 7,200 deaths.
