Nima | Gelephu

The three-day temporarily suspension of quarantine service for routine travellers in Sarpang ends today. 

The travellers currently under quarantine and those who completed the mandatory quarantine have started to discontinue quarantine and cancelled travelling to Thimphu, according to the taskforce officials.  

The quarantine service is currently on hold with the surveillance and contact tracing for those who travelled from Thimphu since December 7 underway in Sarpang. 

The officials from the dzongkhag Covid-19 taskforce said that the quarantine facility was on hold currently to create required accommodation should the dzongkhag report a positive case from the ongoing surveillance. 

More than 300 routine travellers are undergoing mandatory quarantine in Gelephu. However, six people who completed mandatory quarantine on Sunday cancelled their trip to the capital. 

Officials from the quarantine team said there are many calling up to discontinue quarantine since Thimphu is under lockdown. 

Sarpang Dzongdag, Lobzang Dorji said, “Everything is normal here but we are more alert. We were worried if the 25-year-old woman left for Thimphu after getting infected from here.”

He added that the dzongkhag was preparing for the second lockdown, as it is imminent and unpredictable. “We were reviewing our plans and getting ready if we have to lockdown,” said the dzongdag. 

The contact tracing and testing of the people who had come to Gelephu from Thimphu since December 7 is ongoing. 

More than 190 people who came to Gelephu from Thimphu in the past two weeks tested for negative for Covid-19 as of yesterday. 

There are 292 people with a travel history to Thimphu currently in Sarpang, according to the record with the checkpost management system. 

As a part of the routine test, more than 390 frontline workers, who were tested for Covid-19 in the past two days, we’re declared safe. 

The registration centre for the routine travellers and mandatory quarantine facility is based in Gelephu Thromde. The registration could also be done online by calling the toll-free numbers 0625 and 0467 for those in Sarpang. 

The incident commander secretariat issues permission for the emergency travellers and essential travel permits. 

Meanwhile, the annual Sarpang tshechu starts from today at Sarpang rabdey behind closed doors.