Monthly Archives: December, 0

Beginning today, Royal Civil Service Commission has started implementing work from home strategy in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. This comes after directives from the government to support social distancing. Meanwhile, strategies have been put in place to ensure that critical and essential services are not interrupted.

There was a time when fallow fields were a common sight in Khatoed and Khamaed Gewogs in Gasa Dzongkhag. Today, the same fields are bustling with agriculture and farming activities, thanks to land management work initiated by the Dzongkhag agriculture sector.

To mitigate the social and economic consequences of COVID-19 pandemic, UNDP Bhutan and Loden Foundation have rolled out a special funding window called “Loden-UNDP Bhutan COVID-19 Response Fund”. This initiative encourages Bhutanese individuals and groups to come up with innovative business proposals to address the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Another Bhutanese living in New York has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The patient is a middle-aged man who has been working there for several years.

The government announced several physical distancing and stringent social gathering restrictions on 28th March. The government announced restrictions on all non-essential and leisure travels within the country and instructed the Road Safety and Transport Authority (RSTA) to minimise the number of passengers travelling in buses and taxis. The RSTA wasted no time in developing the interim standard operating procedures (SOP) for public transport buses and taxis, which were implemented on 29th March.

Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering said there is no need for the country to lockdown as there is no community transmission of COVID -19 cases in the country, so far. Lockdown, which is mainly for weeks, will only happen if there is community transmission to stop the spread of the disease from one community to another.

Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering clarified that the ban on import of vegetables and fruits is not true and assured its continued supply. People were confused following the Agriculture Minister’s statement to the media on Wednesday which contradicted with a notice from the Agriculture Ministry issued on Thursday.

The Bumthang Dzongkhag’s Education sector launched their own version of e-Learning Program at the district level on local channels, this morning. The program which focuses on the syllabus of class X and XII is only to supplement the nationwide e-Learning program aired on BBS channels.

Two monks, aged 18 and 16 of Trashigang Rabdey, have gone missing since yesterday from Gomphukora in Trashi Yangtse.

Considering the current market situation, Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering is requesting business owners not to send their employees or staff on unpaid leave. Lyonchhen also informed that he has asked the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources to monitor such cases.