Kathmandu:
Wearing a baseball cap and knee-length classic Gho robe, carrying a backpack, Bhutan’s king has walked by way of jungles infested with leeches and snakes, trekked mountains and quarantined a number of occasions in a hotel in the capital.
For 14 months, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, has been travelling by foot, automobile and horse to remote hamlets to oversee measures to defend his tiny kingdom of 700,000 from the coronavirus outbreak that has flared up in neighbouring India.
The effect of the 41-year-old king’s excursions are evident in a COVID-19 death count of just one for the nation nestled among India and China in the Eastern Himalayas.
“When the king travels for miles and knocks … to alert people about the pandemic, then his humble words are respected and taken very seriously,” mentioned Lotay Tshering, the country’s prime minister.
“His Majesty’s presence is far more powerful than just issuing public guidelines,” Tshering told Reuters. His presence assures people today they are not alone in their fight against the pandemic, the prime minister mentioned.
Tshering, a practicing urologist, normally accompanies the Oxford-educated king for trips close to the porous border shared with India, exactly where a second wave of the pandemic more than doubled the death count more than the last two months.
Bhutan became a constitutional monarchy in 2008 when the king relinquished his absolute powers. But loyalty to the royal family nonetheless dominates the nation’s socio-political landscape.
In current weeks, the king walked for 5 days on a trail passing by way of elevations of up to 4,343 m (14,250 ft) to thank key well being workers in remote locations.
The king’s workplace declined a request for an interview but his social media pages on Instagram and Facebook showcase his work and travels in the course of the pandemic.
“Our king’s biggest fear is that if the pandemic spreads like a forest fire then our (nation) could be wiped out,” mentioned a senior palace official.
A father of two boys, immediately after each trip the king checks into a hotel in capital Thimphu to adhere to quarantine protocols. Like most of his subjects, he has received one vaccination dose.
“(The king) has been to all high risk border areas time and again to monitor every measure put in place and to ensure best practices are followed within limited resources,” mentioned Rui Paulo de Jesus, the World Health Organization representative in Bhutan.
Bhutan, an ancient kingdom sealed off to foreigners till the 1970s, has just one medical professional obtainable for each 2,000 people today.
The borders of the scenic nation are now shut once again and domestic lockdowns have been imposed in some locations, though screening and testing for COVID-19 have been stepped up.
Prime Minister Tshering has said Bhutan is looking to mix-and-match vaccine doses since immediately after inoculating 90% of its eligible population with their initially dose of the AstraZeneca shot, the nation ran out of supplies.
The deadline to administer the second dose immediately after a gap of 12 weeks is this month, and the government is seeking other supplies to deal with the shortage.
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