His Majesty The King visited the southern, central and eastern parts of the country to inspect the national level preparedness against Covid-19.

His Majesty visited Tsirang and Gelephu on March 31 and has visited Zhemgang, Trongsa, Bumthang, Mongar, Trashiyangtse, Trashigang, Pemagatshel and Samdrupjongkhar since then.

During the visit, His Majesty met with the Covid-19 task-force members of each dzongkhag, who have the responsibility of, among other things, collecting data of the at-risk population and demographics of their respective dzongkhag.

His Majesty visited hospitals to inspect medical facilities, and the Food Corporation of Bhutan (FCB) branches to inspect essential food stock held in reserve.

His Majesty also visited shops to learn how businesses have been affected by the new coronavirus.

In Mongar, His Majesty visited the Royal Guest House, which has now been converted into a Covid-19 hospital. His Majesty commanded that after the pandemic is over, it would become a mother and child hospital for the east.

Throughout the tour, His Majesty emphasised, to all those working in various capacities across the country, that the greatest objective at the moment is to prevent the outbreak of the virus in Bhutan.

His Majesty also visited a DeSuung training site in Dewathang. Upon His Majesty’s command, there will be an accelerated DeSuung training programme to train about 2,500 teachers, in-service graduates, unemployed youth, and other volunteers simultaneously in seven different locations across the country.

The training will commence today, April 6, with special focus on public health and security, to prepare the trainees to support health workers in our efforts against Covid-19 if necessary.

All the volunteers and trainers will be tested for Covid-19 at the start of the three-week programme to rule out the possibility of community infection. A second batch of DeSuups will be trained upon the completion of this batch.