In year after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, in early January 2021, a very first death linked to SARS-Cov-2 was recorded in Bhutan, this small Asian country wedged between India and China. What was the “recipe” of this territory populated by more than 750,000 people to counter Covid-19? In an article published this month, the American magazine The Atlantic remakes the film of events.
For Bhutan, the affair seemed badly started: 337 doctors for the whole country, a single doctor trained in intensive care, barely 3000 health professionals and a single machine to analyze PCR tests. However, the country reacted very quickly. While China reported cases of what was to be named “Covid-19” to the WHO on December 31, 2019, Bhutan drew up a national preparedness and response plan as early as January 11, 2020 and began to screen on January 15 those who presented symptoms. People who arrived at the airport in particular had their temperature controlled from that date. Note that the border between China and Bhutan has been closed for decades.
Two confinements
On March 6, 2020, Bhutan recorded a first case on its territory, a 76-year-old American tourist. This is the start of the fight: a few hours later, 300 contact cases are identified and everyone is quarantined. The tourist will return to the United States. A few days later, schools, public administrations, gymnasiums, cinemas are closed. The tourist industry pulls down its curtains. Barrier gestures are instituted. Then a state-supported quarantine is put in place for all those who have been potentially exposed to the virus. Tests are carried out.
Bhutan has also experienced lockdowns. The first took place in August, when a woman became the first Bhutanese to test positive. Another lockdown took place in December. The public authorities also have overwhelmingly those who have been affected by the pandemic. A national solidarity, carried in particular by the Buddhist monks, was set up. Ironically, the WHO had organized in November 2019, with local health authorities, a simulation at the country’s airport, with the scenario of the arrival from abroad of a passenger suspected of being infected with a strain of coronavirus….
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