Tshering Namgyal | Mongar 

Lhuentse dzongkhag Covid-19 taskforce has home-quarantined 52 people who were on a pilgrimage to Rinchen Bumpa Nye, a sacred site of Guru Rinpoche in Dungkhar gewog, Lhuentse.

The pilgrims constituting four groups are from Thimphu, Paro and Haa have been quarantined since December 22 for a duration of one week after undergoing an antigen test.

According to the dzongkhag Incident Commander and the Lhuentse dzongdag, Jambay Wangchuk, they are quarantined in a guesthouse in Takela, a house Lhuentse town, and in a guesthouse in Kinzangling, at the base of trail running up to Rinchen Bumpa.

The dzongkhag has tested 490 people using rapid antigen test kits, and 274 people who came from Thimphu and Paro on RT-PCR. Of that 219 samples have been sent to Mongar Covid-19 lab for testing.

Among those who were tested are the monks of Namdroling Dratshang in Autsho.

Assistant dzongkhag health officer, Yanka Dorji, said the teachers, monks and the residents of Namdroling monastery had to be tested following the order from the national surveillance team. Some from the dratshang had visited those places with Covid-19 local outbreak.

He said almost 90 percent of the contract tracing and testing has been completed in the dzongkhag.

Meanwhile, Mongar eastern regional referral hospital has so far carried out over 500 RDT antigens and 886 RT-PCR since December 20 on samples from Bumthang, Khamdang in Trashiyangtse, Kanglung and Riserboo in Trashigang, Gyalpoizhing in Mongar, Lhuentse and Nganglam.

Samples were collected from 82 people in hotels along the highway between Sengor in Mongar and Rolong in Trashigang.

Mongar hospital officials said around 90 percent of the testing has been completed.

According to the Eastern Covid-19 taskforce based in Samdrupjongkhar, 1,225 and 1,239 people have travelled from Thimphu to Lhuentse and Mongar respectively since December 7.

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