![](https://static.independent.co.uk/2021/07/27/14/CORONAVIRUS-BUTAN_10734.jpg?width=1200&auto=webp)
Bhutan’s prime minister announced on Sunday that there shall be no mandatory five-day quarantine period for travellers from 4 July onwards.
Officials in capital Thimphu said the strict measures imposed in the country at the beginning of the pandemic were “necessary” to safeguard it from Covid-19 that wreaked havoc globally. But they also acknowledged the “inconvenience to travellers” these measures caused.
Bhutan closed its borders at the beginning of the pandemic to all foreign tourists. A few days ago, on 30 June, Bhutan officials said the country will reopen for international tourists on 23 September — first time since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.