Coronavirus: Tibet’s Potala Palace shut as first Covid-19 cases since 2020 put Lhasa on high alert
- Area lockdowns and mass testing under way in Tibetan capital Lhasa and other cities as authorities seek to swiftly curb virus spreads
- Omicron BA.2.76 strain behind outbreak, health official says in urging locals to get vaccinated
In the capital Lhasa, some areas at medium or high risk of a coronavirus spread have been placed under five-day lockdowns after 18 people in the city tested positive on Monday.
The outbreak was traced to imported cases of the Omicron BA.2.76 strain and spread rapidly due to family gatherings, local officials said.
Some of those infected were members of the same family that had travelled from the southwestern city of Xigaze to Lhasa for a funeral. A day earlier, four tourists in Burang county of Ngari prefecture, who had travelled there from Xigaze, also tested positive for the virus.
Xigaze officials announced three days of lockdown starting Monday in view of the “severe” epidemic situation, with people banned from either entering or leaving the city. Entertainment venues such as bars, cinemas, teahouses and museums have also been shut temporarily.
All meetings and events, except those related to epidemic control, were ordered cancelled and aged care homes closed to visitors. The advisory also called for weddings to be postponed and simple funerals.
