Dharamshala: Amid a slight increase in covid cases in India, the Tibetan community reported 1 death this week indicating that the Covid-19 has not been vanquished and therefore, strict adherence to the covid protective measures must be continued.
Addressing the 116th Covid-19 briefing, Additional Secretary Jampa Phuntsok, Health Department updated the COVID status of the exile Tibetan community, reporting 13 active cases and 1 death this week.
The total count of reported COVID cases of exile Tibetan community stands at 9148, of which 8989 have recovered, and169 died.
The national vaccine drive covered 50291 individuals above 18 years who are completely vaccinated while 250 are partially vaccinated. In Nepal, the tally stands at 7029. As for vaccination status of below 18 years, a total of 2514 individuals are completely vaccinated while 130 are partially vaccinated. In Nepal, around 109 below 18 individuals are vaccinated with both doses. Booster shot in India has been disbursed to 8834 Tibetans and 662 Tibetans in Nepal.
In the view of cases resurgence in India, Dr Namdon informed the central government’s decision to amp up the covid testing drive and genome sequencing. Genome sequencing is the process of determining a variant through a sampling of a virus and its lineage which enables experts to make quick and informed public health decisions.
Among the variants detected till now, it has been determined that BA.2 has a high potential of becoming a dominant variant of concern.