Lockdown in Bhutan Capital – Thimphu has been lifted “with immediate effect”.
The lockdown in Thimphu has been lifted after the city confirmed ‘presence’ of no COVID-19 case.
Bhutan Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering said: “The lockdown in Thimphu is being lifted with immediate effect, upon ruling out all possibilities of COVID-19 disease presence in the capital for now.”
A 72-hour lockdown was imposed in Thimphu on June 12 after an eight-year-old boy of the Druk School had tested positive via Rapid Antigen Test.
However, the confirmatory RT-PCR test results of the eight-year-old boy returned negative on Monday.
Also read: Assam: Darrang Police rescues minor girl, nabs kidnapper
On the other hand, test results of all the possible contacts of the boy also returned negative, ensuring lifting of the lockdown in the city.
“The confirmatory test of the eight-year-old suspect came out negative this afternoon. All close contacts and related 2,029 samples collected from the community also tested negative so far,” Bhutan PM Dr Lotay Tshering said.
“The lockdown was imposed to prevent potential disease spread until double confirmation on RT-PCR, after repeated test on antigen of the suspected case strongly indicated COVID-19,” PM Tshering added.
He further said: “It is critical that we maintain highest response standards, and do not compromise on all fronts, especially where it concerns our children.”