Paro is under a partial lockdown after three positive cases of COVID-19 were confirmed this morning from Sharpa and Khangkhu. Officials in the district are tracing and testing the contacts of the cases. The patients are moved to isolation.
With two positive cases from Sharpa, the areas falling in between Baangdey fuel station and Uesuna are identified as high risk with the lockdown restrictions imposed.
A 66-year-old woman and her granddaughter living in Sharpa tested positive for the virus. They were detected from the flu clinic. Their primary contact, a female staff of Shaba Higher Secondary School, is in quarantine. She tested negative on the Rapid Antigen test today and her RT-PCR test result is awaited. She had travelled to Thimphu on 12th December and returned the next day.
Similarly, Khangkhu Middle Secondary School under Wangchang Gewog and its periphery are under lockdown as a high-risk area. A male staff of the school was detected with the virus after he visited the flu clinic with flu-like symptoms. His close contacts are already in quarantine. He had also participated in an archery game at Bara Kempa in Sharpaa Gewog on 16th December.
Following the positive cases, mass screening of the staff and students of Shaba Higher Secondary School and Khangkhu Middle Secondary School was conducted today.
Meanwhile, in other parts of the district, some grocery shops remained open and people were allowed to move within their communities to buy essential items. Those with travel history to Thimphu also continued visiting the flu clinic near Tshongdue town.
Namgay Wangchuk, Paro
