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| COVID-19 pandemic in Tibet | |
|---|---|
.png) Yellow: District with one or more cases | |
| Disease | COVID-19 |
| Virus strain | SARS-CoV-2 |
| Location | Tibet |
| Arrival date | 30 January 2020 |
This article documents the situation of theCOVID-19 pandemic in theTibet Autonomous Region.
On 12 January 2020, theWorld Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that anovel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.[1][2]
Thecase fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than that forSARS of 2003,[3][4] but thetransmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.[5][3]
Although there were no suspected and confirmed cases in Tibet at the time, an Autonomous Region leadership group was established on January 27, 2020, with the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Region and the chairman of the Autonomous Region as the group leaders, to respond to the novel coronavirus pneumonia. At the same time, Tibet declared a Level II major public health emergency response.[6] Starting on the same day, all tourist sites in Tibet were temporarily closed,[7] and all persons entering Tibet were required to be quarantined for 14 days in designated places.[8] On 29 January, Tibet escalated its major public health emergency response level to Level I.[9]
On 29 January, Tibet reported its first suspected cases, a person fromSuizhou, Hubei, who took a train fromWuchang railway station toLhasa on 22–24 January.[10] On 30 January, the case was confirmed.[11] On 12 February, the patient was discharged after recovery from the Third People's Hospital of Tibet Autonomous Region. Thus, the number of active confirmed and suspected cases in Tibet decreased to zero.[12]
Tibet had not found any further cases of COVID-19 for over two and a half years until August 7, 2022, when four travelers fromTingri County were diagnosed with COVID-19, although they were all asymptomatic. The travelers were between 47 and 61 years old. It was later reported that the total number of cases for August 7 was 22 (including one case with symptoms), many of whom entered Tibet's capitalLhasa fromShigatse. The discovery of these cases ended China's longest COVID-free streak among regions and provinces after 920 days.[13]
In response to the new COVID-19 cases and in line with mainland China'sZero-COVID policy, the city of Shigatse imposed a three-day lockdown from August 8, during which only essential businesses are allowed to operate and all travel (inbound or outbound) is prohibited. Several buildings were also locked down in Lhasa.[14]
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