by Siva Parameswaran, AG Editor– New Delhi
In the first case of a ‘diplomat death’ in India the defence attaché at the Tanzanian High Commission in New Delhi has succumbed to the deadly Covid-19 infection.
The death of Col. Dr Moses Beatus Mlula, Defence Adviser of Tanzania on 28th April comes in the wake of the Indian capital reeling under severe crisis arising out of the spiralling of the infection.
India continues to face a huge challenge as numbers of infected people has swelled to more than 400,000 in the last few days and the capital city has faced an acute shortage of beds in hospitals coupled with a very low level of medical oxygen supply and lifesaving drugs, the deaths due to Covid-19 has drastically increased.
According to the Tanzanian High Commission Col Dr Moses Beatus Mlula breathed his last at the Army Base Hospital. He was rushed to one of the largest private hospitals on April 27 but could not get a bed due to a heavy influx of patients after which he was taken to the Army hospital.
Repatriation of the body
It is not clear if the body of the late Dr Moses has been repatriated to Tanzania for burial. Repeated calls to the High Commission went unanswered. As per Covid Protocol followed in India the bodies of those dead will be buried or cremated according to the respective religious customs by the government officials and in some cases handed over to the families with the condition, the body is to be buried/cremated within 6-8 hours.
The bodies of those deaths due to the infection are packed according to the WHO and the local medical guidelines in India.
While the Indian Foreign Ministry claims that all diplomatic missions and their staff have offered all assistance on a high priority basis during the pandemic time and the infection, diplomatic missions are tight-lipped on whether their staff has been given treatment on a priority basis.
Meanwhile, some countries have begun to evacuate diplomats and their families on health grounds including providing air ambulance for their embassy officials to return home.
Serious crisis
In spite of being the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer-India has come under increased pressure for the manufacture and distribution of the vaccine on account of raw materials mainly from the United States.
Over the last few days efforts on what the government calls ‘highest priority for production and supply of oxygen and increasing beds in both the government and private hospitals. International help has been pouring into India and local production of medical oxygen is showing an upward trend after the federal government came in for sharp criticism from the highest court of the land for not managing the situation to the expected level and directed those in power to provide oxygen to the hospitals in Delhi on a ‘war footing’.
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