Tibetan Review
Lhasa: More than 100 officials in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) have been dismissed or reprimanded this month for failing to contain the spread of Covid-19, reported the scmp.com Aug 28,2022. The region accounted for a total of 503 new Covid-19 infections out of 1,294 reported across the People’s Republic of China on Aug 27, reported China’s official Xinhua news agency Aug 28, citing the National Health Commission. Neighboring Sichuan and Qinghai, besides the southern island of Hainan, are the other major hotspots.
Citing the regional party mouthpiece Tibet Daily, the scmp.com report said 22 officials in Tibet’s capital Lhasa faced disciplinary action last week alone for negligence in coronavirus control. Five of them had been fired and the rest handed stern warnings.
The report further said that earlier, the Communist Party committee of the Tibetan city of Shannan bordering Nepal had said six local officials had been pulled up over lapses in epidemic control work, of whom two were dismissed.
In Shigatse, the southwestern TAR city where the outbreak began, 77 officials faced disciplinary action this month for dereliction of duty in the Covid-19 battle, with 10 of them losing their jobs. A dozen other officials, meanwhile, were promoted for “outstanding performance”, the report added.
Although the caseload in Tibet – as in the PRC as a whole – may seem insignificant compared with that in other countries, such numbers are regarded as major outbreaks under China’s strict zero-Covid policy, which aims to swiftly snuff out local flare-ups with snap lockdowns, mass testing, extensive contact tracing and quarantine, the report noted.
Meanwhile continuing to report the highest total number of daily new infections, now by a wide margin, TAR detected a total of 503 new cases on Aug 27 (compared to 453 the day before), of which 51 were locally transmitted cases, reported China’s official Xinhua news agency, citing a briefing by the National Health Commission Aug 28.
The report said Qinghai, which constitutes the bulk of the traditional Tibetan province of Amdo and part of the traditional Tibetan province of Kham, had a total of 76 asymptomatic cases on Aug 27 (compared to 67 the day before).
Sichuan Province, which includes parts of the traditional Tibetan province of Kham, has reported a total of 147 daily new cases (compared to 107 the day before), of which 69 were stated to be new locally transmitted cases.
Gansu Province, which includes parts of the traditional Tibetan province of Amdo, has reported 21 daily new asymptomatic cases compared to a total of 41 the day before.
By Team TRC