Locals avoid tourists and guides

March 11th, 2020

Tour guide Yeshi Samdrup and his guests from Hong Kong were on tour to Talo in Punakha. As they approached Talo dzong, a group of people uneasily dispersed while a masked young man shouted, “Go away! We don’t want your coronavirus here.”

More than the group’s reaction, Yeshi Samdrup was taken aback by the youth’s comment. He considered it a verbal harassment. “My guest felt uncomfortable hearing the word coronavirus.”