Covid Outbreaks In Tibet Owing To Chinese Tourism Influx: Report

Covid flares in Tibet because of Chinese tourist influx:

Dharamsala 12 August : The Covid-19-related outbreaks in Tibet could have been the outcome of Chinese tourism being facilitated by the Chinese government in Beijing according to people who observe Tibet which have closed all Buddhist locations, including the iconic Potala Palace.
Commenters have also complained about the lack of infrastructure to fight the spread of the disease in Tibet.

 Covid Outbreaks In Tibet Owing To Chinese Tourism Influx: Report-TeluguStop.com

Although China does not permit journalists, diplomats or tourists from other nations to travel to Tibet However, it has been encouraging local tourists to visit the area in the context of Beijing’s ever-intensifying campaign to integrate Tibet into Chinese society.

The Chinese authorities in the Tibet Autonomous Region — which covers about 50% of Tibet -have put the whole inhabitants of 800,000 in Shigatse city, which is a prefecture level, under the complete lockdown for three days.

Authorities have instituted temporary lockdowns in Lhasa the capital of Tibet, Nyingtri (Chinese: Linzhi) and Lhoka (Shannan) after they discovered numerous instances in the region from the 6th of August.

According to Chinese state media, starting with the discovery of four positive cases in the western Tibetan town of Purang (Pulan) county in Ngari (Ali) on August 6, additional cases have been identified up to now in Shigatse, Lhasa, Nyingtri and Lhoka.

As of Friday, there had more than 25 cases that have been confirmed as positive.

Based on the state media reports about preparations being put in place to prepare for Covid tests in not just these areas however, in Nagchu (Naqu) as well as Chamdo (Changdu) and as in temporary hospitals in Chamdo the affected areas could be more extensive than that being reported.

Information about the individuals with Covid such as their source, have not been released, apart from the fact that they have been diagnosed with the Omicron variant strain BA.2.76.

All of the people infected are believed to have been travelers, including those travelers on the railway route that connects Shigatse and Lhasa as well as between Lhasa and Nyingtri.

Prior to the stringent restrictions that were imposed by Chinese authorities under their “dynamic zero-Covid policy”, Tibet has been under an absolute lockdown.The area is closed to foreign visitors for a number of years.

Despite China’s strict censorship of social media, ever in the wake of recent Covid cases there have been some who have pointed finger at these tourists as the likely reason of the Covid outbreaks.

A similar post on August 8 stated” “In short there are two primary reasons.

One is the extremely infectious Omicron and the second is the growth in the number of people during summer vacation.This means that not just Tibet but also other popular tourist destinations like Xinjiang and Hainan have also been hit by outbreaks during this time.”

In a preemptive attempt to divert of the public’s attention and criticism of the huge number and the of of Chinese travelers, Global Times, a state-owned media outlet has published a report that points at neighboring countries as a potential source of the disease.

“As Xigaze (Chinese spelling of Shigatse) is a city that shares a border with India, Nepal and Bhutan The possibility of transmission via trade can’t be completely ruled out,” the newspaper reported on August 8.

The Lhasa Buddhist Association announced the closing of the entire network of Tibetan Buddhist venues and suspended all religious activities in the city.

The famous Potala Palace is also closed as well with other monasteries and temples in the city.

The notice from the association did not provide the exact duration of the suspension and closure of religious activity .

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