January 26, 2021

After more than a month’s lockdown, six gewogs and Paro Throm will be declared green zone from today.

Naja, Dogar, Doteng and Tsento gewogs were declared green zone from January 17.

With no community cases in 21 days, the dzongkhag task force decided to unlock the zones with certain restrictions.

More than 6,000 residents of Paro yellow zone tested negative after the two-day mass testing that ended Sunday.

According to a notification from the dzongkhag task force, schools and institutions will be allowed to open with strict safety measures such as thermal screening, adequate spacing in classrooms, face masks, and handwashing facilities.

Health officials will randomly test students in schools at least once every two weeks.

School buses and classrooms will be sanitised. Buses will not be used to ferry quarantine passengers.

While the dzongkhag allows both inter dzongkhag and gewog movement, all public transport vehicles, including school buses, must have a transparent sheet or glass partition between the driver and passengers.

Passengers seat should be covered with plastics for easy sanitisation.

Paro Dzongdag Tenzin Thinley said that although outdoor and indoor sports would be allowed, organised tournaments such as including archery was restricted.

He said that all shops would be allowed to open but restaurants and bars should avoid crowd and operate with 50 percent capacity.

Commercial establishments will have to close by 7pm.

Entertainment centres such as drayangs, karaokes, clubs and snooker are not allowed until further notice.

Dzongdag said that pilgrimage to holy sites, visiting tshachhu or menchhu would be restricted.

Loche and community rituals would be allowed but crowding and mass gathering must be avoided.

The task force decided to allow salons and barbershops.

Offices will resume as usual from today.

Source: Kuensel