One main question and worry at the top of many Bhutanese minds will be on if and when there would be a national lockdown, like neighboring India or other countries across the world. However, Lyonchhen Dr Lotay Tshering said that this scenario is highly unlikely even if there is local …
Read More »Druk Gyalpo’s Relief Kidu gets off to a roaring start
2000 plus applications on day 1 itself Most people calling are from the tourism industry The Druk Gyalpo’s Relief Kidu was launched on 14th April Tuesday morning around 10.30 am by the Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering. Immediately after the launch, the RMA Governor Dasho Penjo informed the gathering that …
Read More »Bulk of interest waiver benefit to go to medium and small accounts
Banks to get relief through CRR and T-Bills The CEOs of the two biggest banks in Bhutan, Bank of Bhutan (BoB) and Bhutan National Bank (BNB) both said that sheer majority of the interest waiver will go to medium and small borrowers. His Majesty had announced the waiver of three …
Read More »Govt service delivery slows down post COVID-19
Working from home and social distancing should not affect service delivery: RCSC Chairperson One impact of the COVID-19 situation in Bhutan is a noticeable slowing down of service delivery from the civil service. This drop was noticeable from after the first case of COVID-19 in Bhutan, but it has become …
Read More »Face masks mandatory if we go into red zone: Health Minister
The Health Minister Lyonpo Dechen Wangmo said that it will be mandatory for Bhutanese to wear masks if Bhutan goes into the red zone. In an interview to The Bhutanese she said, “A lot of the countries around the world recommending face masks is due to the presence of community …
Read More »Bhutan to get around 100,000 testing kits
Countries around the world are finding out that one of the best strategies to deal with the COVID-19 virus is to conduct large numbers of tests followed by contact tracing, quarantine, isolation and treatment. The World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros A. Ghebreyesus himself gave the message of ‘test, …
Read More »Anxious wait for Bhutan for lifesaving medical equipment and supplies with raging global demand
As Bhutan sees an increasing numbers of cases jumping from 1 on March 6th to five as of 2nd April, the only comfort is that they are imported cases with no evidence of community transmission yet. However, if Bhutan does see large scale infections and community transfer then the Ministry …
Read More »Govt ensuring stocks for up to 6 months: MoEA Minister
Following the slogan of ‘hoping for the best and preparing for the worst,’ the government is in the midst of ensuring stocks of up to 6 months according to the Minister for Economic Affairs Lyonpo Loknath Sharma. The minister said that the worse case scenario would be if the numbers …
Read More »{Step 1} Govt stops vegetable import on March 24, Minister announces it (Step 2) Faces panic buying, price rise and strong public backlash [Step 3] Issues circular on March 26 saying there never was a ‘ban’
The common English Dictionary says that the words ‘Stop’ and ‘Put a Stop to’ are similar to the word ‘Ban’ At a time when clear and well though out decisions and transparent communication is the need of the hour, The Bhutanese has found that the government first tried ramming in …
Read More »Civil Servants to contribute 5 to 10% of salary for COVID-19 fund
The RCSC has initiated a proposal for voluntary contributions from the salary of Civil Servants and after its acceptance from agencies will be deducting between 5 to 10% of the salary of civil servants. In response to questions from The Bhutanese the RCSC said that it as the central personnel agency, …
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