Police have recently arrested two men for breaching the COVID-19 protocols in Phuentshogling. The suspects travelled to low-risk areas from a high-risk place without undergoing the 7-day mandatory quarantine.
A 24-year-old man from Samtse was arrested on Monday for travelling to Thimphu without undergoing the 7-day quarantine. The man who was working in Thimphu travelled to his village a week ago. He returned to Thimphu without undergoing the 7-day mandatory quarantine via Dungna GC road. A few meters short of the Dolepchen checkpoint located at the Logchina-Dungna border, he got off the vehicle and took a detour walk for about an hour till Ganglakha from where he travelled in a taxi to Thimphu on the same day. However, he returned to Phuentshogling the next day on Monday as the local community knew that he had evaded the 7-day mandatory quarantine. The police arrested him that evening.
And a 45-year-old man from Wangdue Phodrang attempted to cross Sorchen switching station in order to travel to a low-risk area without having to undergo 7-day quarantine. He works as a driver in Phuentshogling. On Wednesday, he travelled to Sorchen in a DCM from Phuentshogling to meet his sister-in-law who is running a roadside restaurant located at Sorchen low-risk area. Upon reaching near the driver switching point at Sorchen, he discretely climbed the dump box of a tipper truck that was bound for Thimphu. All this was captured on the CCTV and he was later arrested.
According to the Southern COVID-19 Task Force in Phuentshogling, the cases will be forwarded to the court and they will be charged with violating the provisions of the penal code of Bhutan for their complete disregard for the safety of the nation.
Tshering Dendup
Edited by Yehsi Gyaltshen
