By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, April 30: As India became the global epicenter for the deadly virus, 352 Tibetans have tested positive and 3 Tibetans have died this past week, the Central Tibetan Administration’s task force on Covid- 19 said Thursday.
Task force member and spokesperson Dr. Tsamchoe said that active cases among Tibetans in India and Nepal stands at 677. She also revealed that as part of the global inoculation drives, 15,457 Tibetans so far have been vaccinated.
Despite concrete data provided by CTA, many say that the actual numbers may be higher as many are without accessible testing facility and that many do not inform the officials when infected by the virus, especially in western countries.
“The official data of infected collected from Tibetans abroad are done through respective Office of Tibet’s but it is highly doubtful if each patient informs the offices. So the actual numbers could be higher than the official tally,” a Tibetan living in the United States told Phayul on the condition of anonymity.
The deadly second wave in India that unfolded this month gave way to a flood of mammoth tally of record daily cases as well as deaths that has since crippled the health infrastructure of the country. In view of such situation, the Deputy Secretary of Health Department, Tsering urged the public to abide by government rules for lockdown and safety measures and curb all unnecessary travels, especially in worst hit regions like Delhi, UP, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
According to CTA data, 53 Tibetans have perished since the pandemic began and 2450 people have contracted the virus, out of which 677 cases are active as of April 29. As of Friday, India recorded a records 3.86 lakh new Covid-19 cases, 3,498 deaths in the last 24 hours. The crisis is compounded by the lack of vaccines although the country is the world’s largest producer of vaccines, resulting in falling way short of the government’s projected target to vaccinate its citizens.
