Kelzang Wangchuk | Samdrupcholing

Almost two months after the relaxation of lockdown in Jomotshangkha, the Covid-19 task force imposed a three-day lockdown in the town and Langchenphu gewog again after detecting a positive case from the community on August 10.

A 33-year-old woman, who took her nine-month-old baby boy for a routine check-up at Jomotshangkha hospital and visited the flu clinic for Covid-19 test because of fever and headache, tested positive.

Officials sent the sample for RT-PCR testing to Dewathang after she tested positive in an antigen test.

The drungkhag Covid-19 task force stated the lockdown is to prevent the virus from spreading in the community and to assure there is no residual virus. Schools, institutions and offices would remain closed.

The incident commander (IC) and Jomotshangkha drungpa, Lamdak Wangdi, said the woman, who tested positive, had travelled to Samdrupjongkhar on July 27 in a public bus from Jomotshangkha and went to Pemathang gewog in Samdrupcholing drungkhag the next day.

He said she stayed there for about four days cultivating paddy and had come back to Samdrupjongkhar on August 1. “The woman had returned to Jomotshangkha on August 3 after staying for two days with her relatives in Samdrupjongkhar.”

According to the drungpa, the medical team traced about 88 primary contacts of the patient so far in Jomotshangkha and her husband and son tested negative on the RT-PCR test. “Medical team has sent the sample of her nine-month-old son and other contacts to Dewathang for the RT-PCR test.”

According to sources, health officials traced about 10 contacts of the woman in Pemathang gewog.

It was learnt all the contacts tested negative on the RT-PCR, but the gewog officials told them to stay at home quarantine for a week.

Sources also said health surveillance team traced about 20 contacts of the woman in Samdrupjongkhar and since all contacts tested negative in the antigen test, they were put under home quarantine. “Their samples were sent to Dewathang.”

Meanwhile, Jomotsangkha drungkhag experienced the first lockdown in the country in April last year after a shopkeeper tested positive during an antigen test. In May and June this year, about 160 positive cases were reported in the drungkhag.

Edited by Tashi Dema