(TibetanReview.net, Aug11’22) – After the addition of nine confirmed and 18 asymptomatic cases on Aug 9, the number of Covid-19 cases in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) in the current outbreak, which began on Aug 7, has risen to 54 – 11 confirmed and 43 asymptomatic – reported China’s official chinadaily.com.cn Aug 10.
The report said the nine newly confirmed cases included two in Chengguan district of Tibet’s capital Lhasa, six in Shigatse city, and one in Nedong district of Lhokha city.
And the 18 asymptomatic cases were stated to consist of two in Burang county of Ngari prefecture, 12 in Shigatse city, and four in Nedong district.
One confirmed case – that of a 67-year-old woman having a history of hypertension and heart disease – was stated to be severe.
The report said that in In Lhasa, Shigatse, and Ngari prefecture, more than 1.99 million samples had been collected for nucleic acid tests, and more than 560,000 collected in the center towns of the cities of Lhokha, Nyingchi and Chamdo.
A total of 545 nucleic acid testing points was stated to have been set up in Lhasa since Aug 8, with more than 1.08 million nucleic acid test samples collected as of midnight on Aug 9.
A temporary hospital with more than 2,000 beds was being set up at a sports stadium in Lhasa, which has a population of 870,000 residents, while in Shigatse a temporary facility with more than 1,000 beds was being built, said another chinadaily.com.cn report Aug 10.
More than 100 first-tier hospitals across the People’s Republic of China were stated to have offered assistance to the hospitals in the region, with Shanghai, Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces planning to send medical teams in the coming weeks. A medical team from Shandong province was stated to have arrived in Lhasa on Aug 9.
Yet another chinadaily.com.cn report Aug 10 said Shigatse had designated 12 high-risk areas distributed throughout Gyirong, Drongba and Nyanang counties and Samdrubtse district. It added four new medium-risk areas in five counties, including Gamba, Nyanang, Dingri, Gyirong and Drongba. The rest of the city has been designated as low risk, the report added.
Earlier, on Aug 8, all counties and districts in Shigtase were placed under strict control for three days, with people being not allowed to enter or exit, unless necessary. The same announcement was made for Ngari Prefecture on the same day.
China’s National Health Commission warned on Aug 10 that people in high-altitude regions were more prone to chronic respiratory diseases and low blood oxygen levels, putting them at greater risk of serious illness from Covid. An analysis of an outbreak in the mountainous province of Gansu, which had 27 serious cases among its almost 4500 infections, suggested the topographical link, the smh.com.au ug 11 cited Guo Yanhong, an official in the National Health Commission’s bureau of medical administration, as saying at a news conference in Beijing on Aug 10.