The Bhutanese Leading the way.
A total of 90 children who are COVID-19 positive in eastern dzongkhags and in Phuentsholing are doing fine, and most of them are asymptomatic and are in non-hospital isolation.
Currently, there are two toddlers below one year who are COVID-19 positive, eight children aged between one year to three years, another eight children age between three years to five years and 72 children age between five years to 18 years old. The youngest patient with COVID-19 is just a month old, as revealed on the National Situational Update on COVID-19 by Ministry of Health on 4 June.
An official from Jomotshangkha COVID-19 Task Force said all the patients are doing well without any complications including children in Jomotshangkha Dungkhag. Children with COVID-19 positive are kept in non-hospital isolation centers. There is a year old baby who is COVID-19 positive where parents are kept with the baby who needs constant care, and some parents are not COVID-19 positive and they still stay with their children who are positive since there are no options, and they are kept with their children in non-hospital isolation centers.
The media focal of Eastern COVID-19 Task Force said due to the surge in positive cases, they have improvised facilities in the isolation wards and other basic requirements. The patients are given vital vitamins to compliment the immune system and in case of food, they are provided with much better food, with at least one meat item or egg and milk. The patients are kept in good conditions and timely monitoring is done. So far, all the patients are doing well and there have been no referral cases.
They are managing 152 patients in Jomotshangkha alone and also 40 patients in Samdrup Jongkhar who were referred from Jomotshangkha. Out of which, 10 children are COVID-19 positive in Jomotshangkha and six children in Samdrup Jongkhar.
The Drungpa of Jomotshangkha said the situation in Jomotshangkha is getting better and mass screening in three gewogs, Lauri, Serthi, and Langchenphu are almost done, and screenings in affected areas are completed. Last time, it had the highest positive cases reported in the gewog and now the cases coming in have decreased and it is all under control.
Some children are in an isolation center in Dewathang, and when it comes to management and care of them, they are looked after by the health team.
He said halls in the Lauri gewog centers are converted into isolation centers, and Serthi gewog has the same arrangements. Patients in Langchenphu gewog are kept in Jomotshangkha Dungkhag and all the offices are converted into isolation centers.
So far, no patients are serious and are asymptomatic, but there are a few who are symptomatic with cough and cold. Required medical teams are mobilized in the three gewogs and also ambulances from the Royal Bhutan Army are sent to the gewogs.
All the positive cases are kept in the isolation ward and taken care of by health staff and all the primary contacts are in the community quarantine. Jomotshangkha is in a complete lockdown and no movement at all. Desuups and Royal Bhutan Police (RBP are deployed there to monitor the community. Hoping that from now onwards, there will be no case reported and it will subsided, said Jomotshangkha Drungpa.
There are enough isolation centers in the gewogs and if it does not accommodate them then the patients are brought to Dungkhag. If patients suffer from severe cases, then they will be either referred to the Mongar hospital or Samdrup Jongkhar hospital.
Those in Khasiding under Merak gewog who tested positive were also included in Jomotshangkha Dungkhag since the area is near Lauri gewog under Jomotshangkha including the facilities including education and the people from Khasiding can avail services from the gewog.
Meanwhile, the National Referral Hospital has six COVID-19 patients in the isolation ward and all are adults and are Bhutanese. They are all doing fine.
