The import of foreign workers in the country will be suspended temporarily from today. This was announced after the Prime Minister completed his 21-day quarantine this evening. Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering shared his concerns over the increasing COVID positive cases, especially in neighbouring countries. With over 200,000 cases reported in India in the last 24 hours and over a thousand fatalities, the Prime Minister said it is to lower the risks of importing the virus into the country.
“With all the celebrations coming up, I have concerns that the number will only grow in a week or so. We quarantine whoever comes into our country. But almost every positive cases come from India like foreign workers and even our Bhutanese. People there are trying to find if it’s the new variant. That’s why we discussed today with the National COVID-19 Taskforce like we do every Thursday. We discussed that the risk is increasing in the South too. We are increasing our vigilance there too. Now no matter how it affects our economy and other developmental activities, we decided that we can’t risk importing any more virus. And for time being, everyone suggested we stop bringing in ex-pats. So from today, we will suspend bringing them,” said Lyonchhen.
Lyonchhen said this action will affect some people and the country’s economy as well but added that this is being done for the good of everyone. “As long as we are not sick, we can always resume all the developmental works,” said Lyonchhen.
Samten Dolkar
