Elderly Tibetans rest while doing lingkor near Jampaling Old People's Home in McLeod Ganj, India, on 26 December 2020. File photo/Tibet Sun/Lobsang Wangyal
Tibet Sun Newsroom
McLEOD GANJ, India, 31 January 2021
Twelve elderly Tibetans have tested positive for Coronavirus at the Jampaling Old People’s Home in McLeod Ganj, according to reports.
Jampaling is currently a red zone, and the area has become out of bounds, with six police guarding the area.
The Lingkor, or the circling around the hill of the Tsuglakhang Temple, has been banned for two weeks.
An elderly man was brought to Tanda hospital after he complained of respiratory problems. It was then that he was diagnosed positive.
Following this more tests were conducted, resulting in more positive cases. Most of them are in their late 70s or early 80s, but the oldest is a 96-year-old female.
It has been learned that the doctors of Delek Hospital have taken swabs of all the residents at the old-age home, which has about 100 elderly people.
According to the Department of Health of the Tibetan administration, the total number of Tibetans in India who have tested positive for Coronavirus is 1,508. Of these 1,440 have recovered, and 38 have died from Covid-19, the disease caused by the Coronavirus.
The worldwide total of people who have had Coronavirus is 103 million, of these 56.9 million have recovered after becoming sick with Covid-19, and deaths have totalled 2.22 million. India has reported 10.7 million cases of infections, numbers recovered is 10.4 million, and deaths from Covid-19 figured at 154K. The figures for people who suffer long-term effects even after ‘recovering’ is not known.
It’s really sad that no one is showing any concern for the elderlies who are going through a tough time which could even prove fatal for many. Just because of carelessness of some people in OPH administration they are going through this situation. But no comments here in their support. No one questioning anyone in CTA or OPH. We wake up only in criticizing each other. I salute Tibet Sun for highlighting this issue at least. I would appreciate more if questions are asked to the administrators how this lapse happened? Is it true a wife of a staff with symptoms of cold and cough came straight without any quarantine?
Responsibility has to be fixed. While the elders were forced to stay shut inside the compound (which is understandable), the staff and their family members could go out and do things as they choose to do. A rumor doing the rounds is that a wife of a staff has come from outside Himachal with cold and cough. Did this lady spend time at the quarantine center? It is utter negligence playing with the lives of our dear popolas and momolas. I hope the matter is raised in the parliament.
I hope the administrators have learnt from the lessons – first in Leh and now in Dharamshala. People should not be allowed to go in and out from OPH elsewhere as well.
Sad. A Tibetan media house has described old age home residents as “inmates”? What is wrong with Tibetans?