With no new cases detected in the past 48 hours (September 2 and 3), the nationwide lockdown has proven effective in preventing further spread of COVID-19.

This is according to Health Minister Dechen Wangmo who said that the nationwide lockdown was imposed at the right time.

If the lockdown was delayed even by a week, the disease would have spread exponentially, she said.

Lyonpo said that although there were no new cases in the past two days, it did not mean that the country was free of the disease. She said that no expert could tell that Thimphu was free of COVID-19.

“This is mainly because it depends on the mode of transmission mode of the virus. COVID-19 is an infectious disease. A single individual is enough to spread it to the rest of the community.”

Giving a hypothetical situation, Lyonpo said that it would take only five days for 13 positive cases to infect the entire population in Bumthang. “It is a highly infectious disease which is why, for now, we cannot ascertain that Thimphu is free of the virus.”

Shttps://kuenselonline.com/future-lockdowns-will-depend-on-individual-responsibility-health-minister/