Tibet maintains defenses against COVID-19

More than 5.29 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in the Tibet autonomous region by the end of last month, regional health commission officials said recently.

The region has a population of more than 3.6 million and has now effectively completed the task of vaccinating all people age 18 and older.

In early last month, Tibet launched vaccinations for those aged between 12 and 17 and has met national goals, said Li Jingzhong, deputy Party secretary of the region's center for disease control and prevention, while addressing a news conference recently in Lhasa, the regional capital.

Based on the analysis of several recent outbreaks of COVID-19 in China, Li said the vaccine has a definite effect on the prevention of transmission, severe illness and death, so it's wise to be vaccinated.

"Having the vaccination does not mean that one is completely safe. Epidemic prevention measures are still necessary," he said.

Since mid-July, a new wave of COVID-19 has hit many parts of China. The Tibetan government has attached great importance to prevention and control work, deploying a series of strict measures that were taken immediately and effectively, he added.

Those include asking people to wear masks, scanning health codes, checking body temperatures and maintaining social distancing at crowded places like shopping malls, supermarkets, tourist sites and monasteries.

"Measures like temperature checks, possession of a negative nucleic acid test result within 48 hours and health and travel code inspections shall be undertaken for people entering Tibet from outside," Li said.

In addition, strict management of employees engaged in jobs like health monitoring and nucleic acid detection at cold chain cargo transportation sites, hospitals, airports and ports has also been strictly implemented.

Border control measures aimed at blocking any imported risks are also in place.

Tan Xiangdong, a senior official of the region's health commission, said that since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, the region has only had one confirmed case, and that patient was cured through intensive care and treatment.

"Thanks to the measures, there have been no new cases for the past 18 consecutive months," he said.