The Bhutanese Leading the way.
It has been observed that most people are becoming more complacent in following COVID-19 safety procedure since the vaccine was administered.
Passengers travelling in taxis, in particular, have stopped using the Druk Trace App and hand sanitizers. It is noted that taxi drivers also do not remind the passengers to follow the safety procedures.
A 30-year-old taxi rider, Sonam, said that now that the vaccine has arrived, people are more comfortable about mingling with each other.
“As the number of cars on the road has increased, so has the number of people moving about, and complacency has set in. The people have become less vigilant. We still forget to use the Druk Trace app, and despite being reminded, some taxis do not have hand sanitizers,” she said.
Kinley Wangchuk, 27, also said that people do not make use of safety protocols, and many taxi drivers have become careless.
“When there were more active COVID cases and vaccines were not available, people were more cautious and followed the safety protocols. But now that vaccines are available, people are less concerned about following safety protocols. Despite the fact that taxi drivers have hand sanitizers and Druk Trace QR codes, passengers do not bother to use them, and taxi drivers do not encourage them to do so,” he said.
Tshewang, a taxi driver, says they have QR codes for the Druk Trace App in the front and back of the seats for the passengers. However, the majority of passengers do not use it, and despite the availability of hand sanitizers, passengers do not use them.
Another taxi driver, Nima, also reported that some passengers use the Druk Trace App without being reminded, while many others do not bother with it.
“I keep hand sanitizers in the car, but passengers don’t use them, and it’s the same with the Druk Trace App is the same,” he said.
It has also been noted that a substantial number of passengers use the city bus despite warnings to keep physical distance and not to crowd, placing the vaccine rollout in jeopardy.
People believe COVID is no longer involved, according to Yangden, a frequent city bus rider. Vaccine recipients have also been irresponsible, she says.
“Despite its size, a city bus can transport a large number of passengers. There are no hand sanitizers available for passengers, but Druk Trace App is in operation, and passengers are required to use the app,” she said.
She added, “We have children under the age of 18 who have not received the vaccine, and as we can see, students mostly use the city bus to get around. If no precautions are taken, the virus will spread and everybody will be infected.”
“There should be a tap near the city bus parking,” said Lhamo, 30, a regular bus passenger. “Hand sanitizers are not accessible in the bus. Passengers should be required to wash their hands before entering the bus, but no one is willing to take responsibility for this. Despite restrictions the city bus transports passengers, and people hurry and travel by standing.”
