{"id":20065105,"date":"2021-01-22T11:43:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-22T06:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thethirdpole.net\/?p=65105"},"modified":"2021-02-15T16:51:38","modified_gmt":"2021-02-15T11:21:38","slug":"himalayan-community-beats-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Himalayan community beats Covid-19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>At the start of December 2020, 13.75% of Covid-19&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/cities\/mandi-kullu-lahaul-spiti-record-highest-covid-positivity-rates-in-himachal\/story-3Xz4IPsCI5swOQMh9IKLlO.html\">tests were positive<\/a>&nbsp;in Lahaul and Spiti. The remote tribal district had one of the highest infection rates in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On October 3, as the pandemic intensified across India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Atal Rohtang Tunnel, enabling year-round movement of people and goods between the neighbouring district of Kullu and Lahaul valley. In the following weeks, Covid-19 cases flared up in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/entire-village-in-lahaul-tests-covid-positive\/articleshow\/79313579.cms\">many villages<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/covidindia.org\/\">Active cases in Lahaul and Spiti rose<\/a>&nbsp;from 66 on October 1 to 455 on November 20. The district, which lacks adequate health infrastructure and quarantine facilities, seemed to be on the brink of tragedy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And yet, as of January 20 there have been just 12 deaths from Covid-19 in Lahaul and Spiti since October 3 \u2013 and none recorded prior to the opening of the tunnel. More than 950 people have died across the state due to the disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The people of Lahaul and Spiti are from Scheduled Tribes, meaning they have special rights under India\u2019s Constitution because they belong to historically disadvantaged groups. While the district\u2019s population of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/hplahaulspiti.nic.in\/\">31,528<\/a>&nbsp;is by far the smallest and lowest density of all the districts in Himachal Pradesh, its low death toll indicates the success of preventative measures taken early in the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-covid-19-and-the-community\">Covid-19 and the community<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The opening of the tunnel, combined with social and religious gatherings, led to a surge in Covid-19 cases. In response, officials established a mobile health clinic to test villagers for the virus. The medical team initially encountered some resistance from communities, stemming from misconceptions about the virus. To promote awareness, the authorities recorded sessions educating communities about Covid-19, which they promoted on social media and local news sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"wp-block-cd-related-news alignright block--related-news loading\" data-post-id=\"20062268\"><div class=\"block--related-news__image\"><\/div><div class=\"block--related-news__content\"><span class=\"block--related-news__heading\">Recommended<\/span><span class=\"block--related-news__title\"><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n<p>At the height of the outbreak, the overburdened four-person medical team collected 120-150 samples per day in temperatures below freezing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe were working in very stressful conditions. There was no option but to perform multiple roles. In the Chandra valley of Lahaul, where the most cases were reported, we collected samples late into the night using the light from the ambulance,\u201d &nbsp;a young medical officer told&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/\">The Third Pole<\/a>. Samples had to be sent nearly 200 kilometres for testing, to the nearest lab in the neighbouring district of Mandi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With cases under control and India rolling out its vaccination programme, the mobile health clinic\u2019s focus now is vaccinating people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But managing Covid-19 would not have been possible without the voluntary efforts of Young Drukpa Association (YDA) Garsha, a youth group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe valley\u2019s public health infrastructure remains in shambles. Knowing the state of affairs, we had to take the situation in our hands and offer the best possible service to the community we could,\u201d Sonam Zangpo, president of YDA Garsha, told&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/\">The Third Pole<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Back in April, YDA volunteers started to monitor and sanitise every vehicle entering Lahaul through the Manali-Leh road. They provided safety gear to sanitisation workers and food to migrant labourers. And they distributed disinfectant to gram panchayats (village councils) while raising awareness of the disease among the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-article-image aligncenter block--article-image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--article-image__column\"><div class=\"block--article-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_4_YDA-e1612203600623.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_4_YDA-e1612203600623-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_4_YDA-e1612203600623.jpg 855w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 855px\" alt=\"\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--article-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--article-image__caption\">Throughout April and May, YDA volunteers sanitised every vehicle entering Lahaul valley through the Manali-Leh highway [Image by: YDA, Garsha]<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_4_YDA-e1612203600623.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"173 KB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"571\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"855\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-article-image aligncenter block--article-image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--article-image__column\"><div class=\"block--article-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_3_YDA.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_3_YDA-768x519.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_3_YDA.jpg 1020w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 1020px\" alt=\"\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--article-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--article-image__caption\">A resident receives a medical kit from a YDA volunteer [Image by: YDA, Garsha]<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_3_YDA.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"585 KB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"689\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"1020\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In appreciation of the group\u2019s work, residents started a fundraising campaign. The money enabled YDA to distribute Covid-19 kits containing an oximeter (a device to measure heart rate and oxygen levels), a steam inhaler to help with breathing, masks, hand sanitiser, zinc and other vitamin supplements. YDA\u2019s service continues to reach the most remote households in the valley despite the harsh winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A third, equally crucial, role was played by the mahila mandals (women\u2019s support groups) of Lahaul and Spiti. Early last year, before the sowing season, the panchayats and mahila mandals collectively decided not to bring in migrant farm labourers. They chose to focus on growing enough to sustain themselves, rather than having produce to sell \u2013 though this meant significant economic loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"wp-block-cd-related-news alignright block--related-news loading\" data-post-id=\"20026129\"><div class=\"block--related-news__image\"><\/div><div class=\"block--related-news__content\"><span class=\"block--related-news__heading\">Recommended<\/span><span class=\"block--related-news__title\"><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n<p>Suman Thakur, pradhan (head of the village council) of Sissu, a village in Lahaul, said, \u201cThe families, especially women, made the conscious decision to not overwork this season in the absence of labourers. By collectively deciding not to permit the workers this year, women placed their families\u2019 and the valley\u2019s well-being before money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, in November, before community transmission had gripped the district, mahila mandals were closely monitoring the movement of non-locals into the valley. As the situation deteriorated, panchayats near the tunnel started to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.outlookindia.com\/website\/story\/india-news-as-covid-19-cases-spike-in-himachal-govt-bans-visitors-at-rohtang-tunnel\/365012\">ban tourism activities<\/a>, putting pressure on the local administrators who eventually took similar action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-article-image aligncenter block--article-image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--article-image__column\"><div class=\"block--article-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_6_Rahul_Rohel.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_6_Rahul_Rohel-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_6_Rahul_Rohel.jpg 1020w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 1020px\" alt=\"\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--article-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--article-image__caption\">Members of a women\u2019s self help group in Keylong stitch masks to be distributed in the community [Image by: Rahul Rohel]<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_6_Rahul_Rohel.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"511 KB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"765\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"1020\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-pandemic-exposes-lack-of-healthcare\">Pandemic exposes lack of healthcare<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While the collective efforts of the community buffered the devastating effects of Covid-19, the pandemic exposed the dire state of public health infrastructure in the district. At the height of the crisis in November, critically ill patients had to seek treatment from already overburdened public services in the neighbouring districts of Kullu and Mandi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But even in other winters, a patient being transported on improvised stretchers to the nearest helipad is a common sight. Heavy snowfall means routes to health centres are blocked and people often must be airlifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Officially, there are seven positions for specialist doctors, including gynaecologist, anaesthetist and surgeon, in the Regional Hospital at Keylong (Lahaul and Spiti\u2019s administrative headquarters), according to a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tribuneindia.com\/news\/himachal\/7-posts-of-doctor-vacant-in-keylong-govt-sleeps-196617\">memorandum submitted<\/a>&nbsp;to the Himachal Pradesh chief minister. None of these positions have been filled. There are eight posts for dentists, of which only one has been appointed. There are no lab technicians, or ultrasound and blood bank facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zangpo, of YDA Garsha, deplored the state of healthcare in the district, pointing out that \u201coverall, Lahaul is performing very well on several indicators, be it education, agriculture, horticulture and now tourism.\u201d Lahaul and Spiti has the&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/himachalservices.nic.in\/economics\/pdf\/distt_dp_2015-16.pdf\">third-highest per capita income<\/a>&nbsp;in Himachal Pradesh, yet lacks basic healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"wp-block-cd-related-news alignright block--related-news loading\" data-post-id=\"20024428\"><div class=\"block--related-news__image\"><\/div><div class=\"block--related-news__content\"><span class=\"block--related-news__heading\">Recommended<\/span><span class=\"block--related-news__title\"><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n<p>Savita, a Lahaul resident, recounted her own experience to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/\">The Third Pole<\/a>. Two years ago, she fell ill during the winter and had to be airlifted, along with three pregnant women from different parts of the valley. Expecting mothers suffer particularly from the lack of healthcare; even today a pregnant woman\u2019s death is talked of as an incident of \u2018fate\u2019, and the recurring maternal mortalities have been protested by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/city\/shimla\/students-take-out-candle-march-demand-medical-facilities\/articleshow\/58200950.cms\">students<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another challenge is the delayed arrival in the winter of the state government\u2019s helicopter that provides free transport in medical emergencies. The service is affected not only by the weather conditions, but also because the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh uses the helicopter for official tours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is hoped that the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/2018\/04\/20\/do-the-youth-of-the-mountains-matter\/\">Rohtang Tunnel<\/a>, with its promise of year-round access, will improve remote communities\u2019 access to emergency healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-article-image aligncenter block--article-image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--article-image__column\"><div class=\"block--article-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_2.1_YDA.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_2.1_YDA-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_2.1_YDA.jpg 1020w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 1020px\" alt=\"\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--article-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--article-image__caption\">YDA volunteers distributed medical kits to the remotest parts of Lahaul Spiti district in mid-winter [Image by: YDA, Garsha]<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_2.1_YDA.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"601 KB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"765\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"1020\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-provide-healthcare-to-grow-tourism\">Provide healthcare to grow tourism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHow can any community prosper without basic health facilities in place?\u201d asked Mangal Chand from Gemur village. He predicted that a rise in tourism brought by the Rohtang Tunnel will soon lead to demand for robust health services. \u201cThe government is now thinking of promoting winter tourism. Are we also ready to address the medical needs of the tourists? There will be many untoward incidents.\u201d Eight years ago, Chand\u2019s young daughter had to be airlifted out of the district in the middle of winter, suffering from severe stomach ache and fever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While active cases have fallen, the threat of Covid-19 transmission within the community continues to lurk, with the tunnel, the new landmark of the Himalayas, continuing to attract visitors. On December 27,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.outlookindia.com\/website\/story\/india-news-record-breaking-5000-vehicles-cross-atal-rohtang-tunnel-on-a-single-day\/368609\">close to 5,500 vehicles<\/a>&nbsp;passed through the tunnel \u2013 the highest since it opened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Residents, medical workers and a youth group mitigated a dangerous rise in Covid-19 recently in the district of Lahaul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, but the pandemic exposed a desperate need for better healthcare in this remote part of India<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20000283,"featured_media":20065124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50039900],"tags":[20000838,551,20000022],"hashtags":[],"country":[20000111],"class_list":["post-20065105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-justice","tag-covid-19","tag-health","tag-himalayas","country-india"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v26.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Himalayan community beats Covid-19 | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Residents, medical workers and a youth group mitigated a dangerous rise in Covid-19 recently in a remote district in Himachal Pradesh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Himalayan community beats Covid-19\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Residents, medical workers and a youth group mitigated a dangerous rise in Covid-19 recently in the district of Lahaul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, but the pandemic exposed a desperate need for better healthcare in this remote part of India\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dialogue Earth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-22T06:13:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-15T11:21:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_5_Kwaring-2048x1375-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1375\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joe Coroneo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Joe Coroneo\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/41b5fa6bbd3a5a4f009440478f4f316f\"},\"headline\":\"Himalayan community beats Covid-19\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-22T06:13:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-15T11:21:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/\"},\"wordCount\":1320,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_5_Kwaring-2048x1375-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Covid-19\",\"Health\",\"Himalayas\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Justice\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/\",\"name\":\"Himalayan community beats Covid-19 | Dialogue Earth\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_5_Kwaring-2048x1375-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-22T06:13:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-15T11:21:38+00:00\",\"description\":\"Residents, medical workers and a youth group mitigated a dangerous rise in Covid-19 recently in a remote district in Himachal Pradesh\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_5_Kwaring-2048x1375-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_5_Kwaring-2048x1375-1.jpg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1375,\"caption\":\"The four person medical team at Kwaring village of Lahaul tests for Covid-19 during winter in the high Himalayas [Image by: Rakesh Parihar]\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Himalayan community beats Covid-19\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Dialogue Earth\",\"description\":\"Global climate and environment news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png\",\"width\":256,\"height\":256,\"caption\":\"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DialogueEarth_\",\"\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DialogueEarth.English\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dialogue.earth\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/dialogueearth\/\"],\"publishingPrinciples\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/about\/\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/41b5fa6bbd3a5a4f009440478f4f316f\",\"name\":\"Joe Coroneo\",\"description\":\"Joe Coroneo-Seaman is the Production Assistant at The Third Pole. He has lived and worked in Greater China for 2 years, and has an MA (Hons) in Chinese and French from the University of Edinburgh.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/joecoroneo\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/kesang-thakur\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Himalayan community beats Covid-19 | Dialogue Earth","description":"Residents, medical workers and a youth group mitigated a dangerous rise in Covid-19 recently in a remote district in Himachal Pradesh","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Himalayan community beats Covid-19","og_description":"Residents, medical workers and a youth group mitigated a dangerous rise in Covid-19 recently in the district of Lahaul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, but the pandemic exposed a desperate need for better healthcare in this remote part of India","og_url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/","og_site_name":"Dialogue Earth","article_published_time":"2021-01-22T06:13:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-02-15T11:21:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":1375,"url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_5_Kwaring-2048x1375-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Joe Coroneo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/"},"author":{"name":"Joe Coroneo","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/41b5fa6bbd3a5a4f009440478f4f316f"},"headline":"Himalayan community beats Covid-19","datePublished":"2021-01-22T06:13:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-15T11:21:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/"},"wordCount":1320,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_5_Kwaring-2048x1375-1.jpg","keywords":["Covid-19","Health","Himalayas"],"articleSection":["Justice"],"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/","name":"Himalayan community beats Covid-19 | Dialogue Earth","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_5_Kwaring-2048x1375-1.jpg","datePublished":"2021-01-22T06:13:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-15T11:21:38+00:00","description":"Residents, medical workers and a youth group mitigated a dangerous rise in Covid-19 recently in a remote district in Himachal Pradesh","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_5_Kwaring-2048x1375-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo_5_Kwaring-2048x1375-1.jpg","width":2048,"height":1375,"caption":"The four person medical team at Kwaring village of Lahaul tests for Covid-19 during winter in the high Himalayas [Image by: Rakesh Parihar]"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/himalayan-community-beats-covid-19\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Himalayan community beats Covid-19"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/","name":"Dialogue Earth","description":"Global climate and environment news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization","name":"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png","width":256,"height":256,"caption":"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/DialogueEarth_","","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DialogueEarth.English","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dialogue.earth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/dialogueearth\/"],"publishingPrinciples":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/about\/"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/41b5fa6bbd3a5a4f009440478f4f316f","name":"Joe Coroneo","description":"Joe Coroneo-Seaman is the Production Assistant at The Third Pole. He has lived and worked in Greater China for 2 years, and has an MA (Hons) in Chinese and French from the University of Edinburgh.","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/joecoroneo\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/kesang-thakur\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20065105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20000283"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20065105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20065105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20065124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20065105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20065105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20065105"},{"taxonomy":"hashtags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtags?post=20065105"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=20065105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}