General view of the deserted Norzin Lam road, Bhutan's capital main artery, during a government imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Thimpu, capital of Bhutan on Aug 13, 2020. (UPASANA DAHAL / AFP)
KATHMANDU / HANOI / SINGAPORE / YANGON – Bhutan will reopen for international tourists from September for the first time since the pandemic began more than two years ago, officials said on Thursday, as the tiny Himalayan kingdom looks to revive its economy.
Wedged between China and India, the country with scenic natural beauty and ancient Buddhist culture, took drastic early steps and banned tourism, a major source of income, in March 2020 when the first COVID-19 case was detected there.
The constitutional monarchy of less than 800,000 people has reported fewer than 60,000 infections and only 21 deaths, but the $3 billion economy contracted in the last two fiscal years, pushing more people into poverty.
The Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB) said tourists would be allowed to enter from Sept. 23.
They will, however, be charged a Sustainable Development Fee of $200 per tourist per night, up from the $65 charged for three decades. Officials said the new fee would offset tourists' carbon impact.
"COVID-19 has allowed us to reset – to rethink how the sector can be best structured and operated… while keeping carbon footprints low," Tandi Dorji, TCB chairman and the country’s foreign minister, said in a statement.
Authorities said Bhutan had revised standards for service providers, such as hotels, guides, tour operators, and drivers.
Tourism employs 50,000 people and contributed an annual average of about $84 million in the three years before the pandemic in direct foreign exchange.
Bhutan opened to high-end tourists in 1974 when it received 300 visitors. The number soared to 315,600 in 2019, up 15.1% from a year earlier, TCB data showed.
A woman receives a shot of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine in Yangon, Myanmar, Aug 29, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Myanmar
China donated 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for Myanmar on Thursday.
Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai said it was in support of ASEAN's humanitarian assistance to Myanmar.
At his residence in Yangon, the Chinese ambassador handed over the donation certificate to Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, the ASEAN chair's special envoy on Myanmar, and ASEAN's deputy secretary-general Ekkaphab Phanthavong.
Sokhonn, who is also a deputy prime minister of Cambodia, was on his working visit to Myanmar.
The donation fully reflected China's high regard for the centrality and the role of ASEAN, as well as China's firm position to support ASEAN's humanitarian assistance to Myanmar, the Chinese ambassador said.
"Both China and ASEAN are friends of Myanmar, and Myanmar is an indispensable and important member of the ASEAN family," he added.
The Chinese ambassador said China has provided more than 600 million doses of vaccines to ASEAN countries.
Myanmar confirmed 13 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 613,596 on Thursday according to the country's Health Ministry.
The health authorities tested 5,559 people for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, and the daily positivity rate was 0.23 percent.
It added that the death toll from COVID-19 in the country remained unchanged at 19,434 as no new deaths were confirmed in the past 24 hours.
A notice warning people not to gather in groups larger than five persons as part of restrictions to hald the spread of the coronavirus is displayed at Raffles Place financial business district in Singapore on Jan 4, 2022. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)
Singapore
Singapore reported 9,505 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the total tally to 1,444,068.
Of the new cases, 763 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 8,742 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.
Among the PCR cases, 731 were local transmissions and 32 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 8,198 local transmissions and 544 imported cases, respectively.
A total of 483 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with 11 cases in intensive care units.
Two deaths were reported from COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the total death toll to 1,413, the ministry said.
Vietnam
Vietnam recorded 839 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, up by 62 from Wednesday, according to its Ministry of Health.
The new infections brought the total tally to 10,746,470 with 43,087 deaths.