Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Now, this as amazing as it is unprecedented any country has done so far to check the spread of Covid-19 virus: a nation’s king, and the prime minister, patrolling border areas to prevent illegal human crossings lest it spread the killer virus.
Media reports on Tuesday said that, amid the spread of the pandemic, Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, accompanied by Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, patrolled the eastern border areas for five days to check illegal crossings that could increase the chances of infection from the virus.
The interesting information surfaced in tweets shared by Tenzing Lamsang, President of the Media Association of Bhutan. He shared pictures of the king in his 14th or 15th trip to the borders during the pandemic.
“His Majesty the King trekked 5 days in Bhutan’s eastern border areas through forests, rains, high passes & leeches to check on border posts put up to check illegal crossings to prevent Covid-19.”
Wangchuck, he said, has rarely been home since the pandemic began, and is busy patrolling and ensuring the safety of his country, media reported.
Bhutan, one of the cleanest places on the Earth, has so far reported only 1,826 infections and just one coronavirus-related death. It detects close to 17 new infections on average each day.
In May, Prime Minister Tshering had expressed concern over the prevailing threat of Covid-19 in the country and said: “We will be wiped out if we can’t control the virus now.”
Tshering reminded people of the threat the pandemic still posed even after nearly 18 months of its emergence in the country.
“Many in the country thought that after two episodes of Covid-19 outbreak, the worst was over. The vaccination programme also came as a ray of hope for many.”
This was because the SARS-CoV-2 virus was fast mutating and it was becoming more transmissible and overwhelming. Bhutan felt that the country was being slowly surrounded from all corners and if adequate control measures were not put in place and if people did not adhere to the preventive measures, the Himalayan landlocked country would be overwhelmed within no time.