Challenges and Response to the Second Major Local Outbreak of COVID-19 in Bhutan

Tamang, Saran Tenzin; Dorji, Thinley

doi:10.1177/10105395211007607

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Subsequently, the Bhutan government imposed two major national lockdowns, the first in August 2020 for almost 31 days and the second from 23 December 2020 to 1 February 2021 (Tamang & Dorji, 2021). In addition, several lockdowns and curfews affected specific areas at the level of districts with a high risk of local transmission, particularly Samtse and Chukha districts in the south-western foothills bordering India.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Online During the Covid Pandemic in Rural Bhutan: Challenges and Coping Strategies

Wangdi¹,

Rai²

2022

South Asia Research

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The adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on teachers and students has been discussed in different contexts of education, mostly focused on challenges of the imposed transition from physical to virtual teaching. Not much has been written about the resulting predicaments of rural teachers and their students, especially in developing countries like Bhutan. Using a qualitative approach, this article explores these challenges and identifies the coping strategies used by 15 Bhutanese rural teachers regarding online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Possible implications and recommendations for future practice and research are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Online During the Covid Pandemic in Rural Bhutan: Challenges and Coping Strategies

Wangdi¹,

Rai²

2022

South Asia Research

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“…The MoH initiated training programs for existing health professionals in areas of epidemiology, health system and procurement surveillance, and response and emergency preparedness. To address dire shortage of human resources, task shifting, and task sharing proved to be vital during lockdown, testing, vaccination rollout and all other activities to optimally utilize the technical staff [ 16 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors influencing COVID-19 testing: a qualitative study in Bhutan

Yangchen¹,

Assan

et al. 2022

glob health res policy

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic has reaffirmed an all-knowing truth—that health is central in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. To fully control the infection in a community, accurate testing of suspected cases along with effective tracing and appropriate treatment (3Ts) is still crucial to slowing transmission of COVID-19 virus This study explored factors that influenced COVID-19 testing in Bhutan. The lessons learned from this study could serve as a roadmap to strengthen the current respond to COVID-19 and for future outbreaks, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Methods The study employed an exploratory qualitative design. Data collection methods included interviews with key informants with a purposively selected sample of 20 participants. The interview findings were augmented by reviewing both published literature and unpublished documents.For the analysis of qualitative interviews, a hybrid approach of inductive and deductive coding and theme development was conducted to analyze findings. A tailored version of the WHO Health System Framework incorporating the Essential Public Health Function was used to guide data interpretation. Results Political will through the influence and leadership of the King of Bhutan played a crucial role in raising attention to the problem, and provision of adequate financial and technical relief to ensure that all people irrespective of their socioeconomic status do not pay to get tested of COVID-19. A compassionate leadership, Whole of Society approach is backed by the scientific community, functional health systems and community-based approaches, use of information technology for awareness creation and improved surveillance system, and fast-tracked COVID-19 testing service delivery. Conclusion Bhutan’s success relied greatly on multi-sectoral and systematic approach during policy design, implementation and monitoring, and active collaborative efforts involving consultation and engagements with a broad range of local (community members), national and global actors for accelerated COVID-19 testing. These efforts were made possible through improved health governance and leadership at all levels of the society.

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“…[29,30] We explored the link between being landlocked and the possibility of limiting exposure to visitors and the different variants of the SARs CoV2 virus but Bhutan enjoys robust interactions with foreigners due to the recreational mountaineering activities, [31] though these recreational activities may have been slowed down by the country response which included two lock-downs implemented in the country so far. [32]…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is There an Association Between COVID-19 Mortality and Human Development Index? The Case Study of Nigeria and Selected Low/middle Income Countries.

Ameye

Ojo

Adetunji

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Objectives. We assessed Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of COVID-19 as an indicator to situate the performance of Nigeria relative to other selected countries. From the available open-source datasets, we derived the case fatality rates of the different countries of interest for comparison. The CFRs were calculated as the rate of deaths compared with total cases. The values were compared with the Nigeria’s COVID-19 CFR. Other relevant statistical comparisons were also conducted. Results: The worst performing countries with regards to CFR in descending order were Yemen (19.5%), Peru (9.0%) Mexico (7.6%), Sudan (7.4%) and Ecuador (6.3%) while the best performing nations were Bhutan (0.11%), Burundi (0.19%), Iceland (0.20%), Laos (0.21%) and Qatar (0.25%). The CFR of Nigeria was 1.39%% which falls below the 50th percentile. Other comparison done showed significant difference in the CFR values between countries similar to Nigeria and countries that are dissimilar when HDI is used. (Mann-Whitney U test 126.0, p = 0.01). The trend of the CFR in Nigeria showed a steady decline and flattening of the CFR curve which does not seem to be affected by the spikes in the daily declared cases.

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Challenges and Response to the Second Major Local Outbreak of COVID-19 in Bhutan

Cited by 7 publications

References 4 publications

Teaching Online During the Covid Pandemic in Rural Bhutan: Challenges and Coping Strategies

Teaching Online During the Covid Pandemic in Rural Bhutan: Challenges and Coping Strategies

Factors influencing COVID-19 testing: a qualitative study in Bhutan

Is There an Association Between COVID-19 Mortality and Human Development Index? The Case Study of Nigeria and Selected Low/middle Income Countries.

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