Monthly Archives: December, 0

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) will fast-track the prosecutions of the cases related to the breach of lockdown protocols. Defaulters would be charged under two sections of the Penal Code of Bhutan with non-compoundable prison terms.  

Boulder export from Gelephu to Bangladesh resumed in November last year, but it has never been able to regain its normal pace even until now. Most of the exporters have now suspended the export due to risks along the 350 kilometres highway through the Assam and Meghalaya states.

Bhutan reported its first death due to the COVID-19 on 7th January 2021. A 34-year-old COVID-19 patient with pre-existing medical conditions died at the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital (JDWNRH). He was admitted to the COVID-19 ward. 

Although lockdown has been relaxed in the zones that did not report any community transmission, with travel restrictions, concerns are still high among farmers, especially for an undisturbed market for their farm produces. A women farmers’ group of Goling under Nangkhor Gewog in Zhemgang is one of them. 

With the inter-dzongkhag travel restriction still in force, the government has facilitated travel for stranded people in various parts of the country since a few days back, but what of those who do not own a private car?

Heightening the safety precautions, Samdrup Jongkhar town is up for strict implementation of COVID-19 preventive measures. More than 200 shopkeepers signed an undertaking with the Dzongkhag COVID-19 Task Force, yesterday. 

With the relaxation of the lockdown in Samtse yesterday, the seven-day mandatory quarantine for all out-bound travellers from the district was reinstated. Although the dzongkhag was declared a green zone without any COVID-19 positive cases, it is still considered a high-risk area because of its proximity to the border. 

It has been just a few days since the Health Ministry started mobile flu clinics in Thimphu to enhance the coverage and improve accessibility, and already 1,059 people have been tested. According to the ministry, not having to call 1010 for an e-permit has encouraged more people to avail themselves of the service. 

Gelegphu is in its peak season of orange export, but with a limited number of people working in the depots, the shortage of labourers has become a cause of concern for the exporters. The youth facilitated by the regional labour office in Gelegphu are leaving the work one after another. 

The closure of borders and restriction on imports has not only boosted local produce but has also triggered innovations among the people in the country. In Dagana, in absence of plastic cups, chilli growers of Samarchhu under Tsenda-Gang Gewog have found an alternative to raise chilli saplings– Bamboo cups.