Tanzanian diplomat dies of Covid as missions battle surge in Capital

Col Moses Beatus Mlula was taken to a leading private hospital of New Delhi in a serious condition on April 27 but it declined to admit him

Published on: May 4, 2021, 05:29:53 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar, Rahul Singh, New Delhi

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The defence advisor at the high commission of Tanzania has died of Covid-19, the first death within the diplomatic community in New Delhi amid the devastating second wave of Coronavirus infections sweeping across the country.

The foreign missions too are tight-lipped on issues such as whether the treatment of infected staff has been affected by the shortage of oxygen and hospital beds. (File photo)

Col Moses Beatus Mlula was taken to a leading private hospital of New Delhi in a serious condition on April 27 but it declined to admit him, people familiar with developments said.

“He was waiting in front of the private hospital when his condition worsened. The army’s foreign division received a call for help and immediately took him to Base Hospital,” the people said. Mlula died on April 28 at the Base Hospital at Delhi Cantonment.

The people cited above said there were reports of Indian staff and junior diplomats testing positive at several foreign missions, including those of the Philippines, New Zealand, Thailand, Vietnam, Palestine, the US and Afghanistan. Some of those who tested positive were self-isolating at home while a handful had been hospitalised. There was no official word from Indian officials on these developments.

The foreign missions too are tight-lipped on issues such as whether the treatment of infected staff has been affected by the shortage of oxygen and hospital beds, especially after a spat between the government and the opposition Congress over Youth Congress volunteers delivering oxygen cylinders to the Philippines embassy and the New Zealand high commission.

The people cited above acknowledged that some missions faced difficulties in accessing both medicines and hospital beds but pointed out that this should be seen in the overall context of swamped healthcare facilities in Delhi and the NCR.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

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