Chinese and Tibetan people living in mainland China are travelling to Tibet to escape strict quarantines imposed on nearly 20 cities across the country in an effort to contain the spread of the Coronavirus.
The Coronavirus, officially called Novel Coronavirus 2019nCOV, first appeared in the city of Wuhan in mid-December 2019. Since then,there are reports of thousands of people across China being infected. According to the World Health Organisation about 60 cases of the Coronavirus have been reported in 14 countries outside China, including the United States, Canada, France, Australia, Japan, Nepal, Malaysia and the Philippines. At the time of going to press, 170 deaths have been reported, nearly all around Wuhan. No deaths have been reported outside China.
On January 22, in an effort to control the spread of the virus, China quarantined Wuhan, a city of more than 11 million people and the centre of the outbreak. Subsequently, the government has imposed travel bans on nearly 20 other cities across China, subjecting more than 55 million people to travel restrictions, according to Al Jazeera.
Prior to the travel ban Tibet saw an influx of travellers arriving by plane from mainland China seeking to escape Coronavirus, including both Han Chinese and resident Tibetans returning home from stays in China. According to Radio Free Asia on January 23, one day after the government imposed the travel ban, a plane carrying 128 passengers from Wuhan arrived in Xining, capital of the Tibetan province of Amdo [Ch: Qinghai]. In a statement the government said authorities were screening all passengers for symptoms of Coronavirus infection.
A video of a woman walking in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, stating that she had travelled from Wuhan and is not afraid of falling ill went viral on social media raising concerns among Tibetans that travellers could bring the disease to their region.
Radio Free Asia reports that there are currently no cases of the Coronavirus in Tibet, making it the only region in China to remain unaffected. The health department in Lhasa has instructed anyone travelling from mainland China to report themselves for registration and avoid contact with crowds for several weeks. The incubation period of the virus is still unknown, according to the New York Times.
On January 27 the Tibet Autonomous Region activated a second-level emergency response and closed popular tourist sites, including the Potala Palace in Lhasa, as a precaution against potential spread of the Coronavirus, reports Xinhua.com.
The Asia Times reports that flights from Wuhan to Lhasa and to Urumqi, the capital of East Turkestan [Ch: Xinjiang] in north western China, continue despite the quarantine in Wuhan and the cancellation of other flights out, and says that people fear that China is not concerned about infection in these two regions because of the politics there. The Asia Times quotes an “anonymous Tibetan scholar from Lhasa” as saying, “China deliberately let these infected people go to Tibet and Xinjiang, two most visible regions in Chinese politics to challenge against their ethnic assimilation.” Another of their souces, a female Uighur activist from London, with family in East Turkestan, is quoted as saying, “Knowing the reality that it is far difficult to control and treat the coronavirus in Tibet and Uighur (Xinjiang) that there are far lesser medical facilities and transportations. China has deliberately exposed these two fragile societies to this dangerous disease”.
“China always claims that Tibet and Uighur are inalienable parts of China. If it’s so, why did they treat us as if we are less important than its Han people”, she continued.
The World Health Organisation says it is too early to declare the outbreak of 2019nCOV an international public health emergency, a declaration used for the most dangerous epidemics, though Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says no one should interpret this as meaning the WHO does not think the situation is serious. The virus is currently an emergency for China and has a high probability of becoming an international emergency.
According to the World Health Organisation, symptoms of Coronavirus infection include fever, runny nose, cough, and shortness of breath or breathing difficulties. In severe cases the infection can lead to pneumonia, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, kidney failure, and death. There is currently no vaccine for the virus.
The 2019nCOV belongs to a family of Coronaviruses that cause a variety of illnesses including the common cold, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). These viruses originate in animals and transmit to humans. It is not yet known in which animal the 2019nCOV originated or how it made the jump from animals to humans.
According to the Business Insider, the virus is spread from person to person through coughs and sneezes. Effective methods for protecting against contracting the disease include avoiding close contact with people exhibiting signs of cold-like illnesses such as a fever, cough, runny nose or sore throat; frequent handwashing, and avoidance of touching eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands. Avoid direct contact with animals in affected areas.
The New Scientist reports that face masks offer some protection but are not foolproof. Rather, avoiding large crowds and public areas is a more effective protection.
Anyone experiencing a fever, runny nose or a cough should report their symptoms to their local health authority immediately.
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