A Bhutanese journalist, who was a member of Prime Minister  Lotay Tshering’s entourage to Bangladesh last month, tested positive for COVID-19 and has been quarantined at a facility in the capital Thimphu. This is the first time that a journalist has been tested positive in the line of duty in Bhutan.

The reporter, who was a member of the prime minister entourage to Bangladesh last month, tested positive during the routine test conducted on April 5 at the quarantine facility, according to Kuensel newspaper. 

Along with the reporter, whose name was not disclosed by the newspaper, another member - an official from the Prime Minister’s Office – who was also part of the entourage also tested positive on the same day.

Both the official and the reporter is in stable condition and have been moved to an isolation facility where the rest of the positive cases from the recent Bangladesh trip have been kept.

The newspaper quoting sources confirmed that a cook at the Bhutan Embassy’s guesthouse in Dhaka, where the media team was kept, had recently tested positive for COVID-19.  The cook is currently in a hospital in Dhaka.

The cook, sources said, could be a possible source of infection. They also suspect journalists interacting with foreign officials at an event on March 24 in Dhaka or the Dhaka airport is another possible source of infection, the newspaper said.

Given the pandemic protocols, the members of Bhutanese delegation did not go anywhere outside while in Dhaka, the source said. “Moreover, it was risky to move around given the high number of positive cases there.”

None of the 13-member entourage on their return tested positive during the first routine test conducted on March 31. 

Except for Lyonchhen (Prime Minister), the rest of the members were placed in the same quarantine facility in Thimphu, the newspaper said.

Meanwhile, 15 Royal Academy of Performing Arts (RAPA) artists have also tested positive for COVID-19 until recently. The artists, a total of 22, were a part of Lyonchhen’s delegation to Dhaka as a cultural troupe for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence last month.