Bhutan COVID-19 positive case has an Assam link!

THIMPU: Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering announced on Friday that one positive coronavirus case has been confirmed in the country on March 5 and the patient is a US tourist who arrived here via Guwahati.

According to the Health Ministry of Bhutan, the patient was on a tour of India from February 21 to March 1. He started his travel from Washington D.C. on February 18. He was traveling with his partner, who is aged 59, and there were 10 passengers on board at the time he arrived in Bhutan, of which eight were Indian nationals. Schools and institutions in three districts of Thimphu, Paro and Punakha where the patient visited have been closed for three weeks. (IANS)

Our staff reporter adds: State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that a person testing coronavirus positive in Bhutan has a history of staying in Assam, and efforts are on to identify the people who might have been in contact with the person during his stay in the State.

Making this disclosure before the media, the Minister said, “The person even took to a river cruise in the Brahmaputra during his stay in the State. We’re trying to identify all those people who were in touch with the person in Assam. We’ll do all as advised by the Government on India in this regard.”

When asked on any advisories during the Holi that marks mass gathering, Sarma said, “All advisories have been sent to the district magistrates to ensure that there’s no mass gathering during the Holi and after it.”

Also Read: First case of coronavirus detected in Bhutan; the US tourist reached Bhutan via Guwahati

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