[5][7] On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.

During his first two days in Bhutan, he sought the medical attention for a minor illness of which the symptoms included bloating, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and fatigue.

On his fourth day in Bhutan, he was diagnosed as a case of COVID-19 and was admitted at the Jigme Dorji Wangchuk National Referral hospital.

Initial chest X-ray revealed mild bilateral patchy infiltrates, and he was started on oseltamivir, ceftriaxone, and doxycycline, and was kept in respiratory isolation on supplemental oxygen.

[10] Over the days of hospitalization, the patient’s oxygen requirement gradually worsened; his white blood cell (WBC) count and C-reactive protein (CRP) continued to increase.

Computed tomography of the chest revealed diffuse ground-glass opacities consistent with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

By the next morning, his oxygenation status improved, and 48 hours after the first dose of IVIG, the patient’s WBC count and CRP had decreased.

[2] The 76-year-old American male's case received personal attention from Bhutan's king,[13] and he was evacuated to the United States on 13 March.

[17] 22 March: Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the king of Bhutan, announced in a national address that the country's land borders would be sealed off.

Around 5,000 Bhutanese living the Indian town of Jaigaon West Bengal, bordering Bhutan, were evacuated to neighbouring Phuntsholing.

[14] 7 April: With the numbers of coronavirus infections in neighbouring India rising, increased security and prevention measures have been set up in the Sarpang and Samtse districts which border the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal.

These measures include round-the-clock surveillance of all formal and informal border crossing points, and door-to-door COVID-19 awareness and prevention campaigns.

[27][28] 8 April: A special isolation hospital equipped to treat any COVID-19 patients in the eastern region has been set up in the Royal Guest House at Mongar.

[31] 21 April: A person who returned to Bhutan from the Middle East, in quarantine since arrival, tested positive and became the sixth COVID-19 case in the country; he was moved to the hospital isolation facility.

The agreement was signed by Finance Minister Lyonpo Namgay Tshering and Tenzin Lhaden, Acting Country Representative, on behalf of the World Bank.

The person, who was asymptomatic and had no recent travel history, was placed in quarantine to be moved to an isolation ward in Mongar or Thimphu if the further test result proved positive.

The area continues to be kept under high surveillance, with the suspected case and his primary contacts put under isolation or quarantine for at least seven days.

The test kits were handed over by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in Bhutan to the Ministry of Health this morning.

Based on experience in Korea, KOICA said mass testing could support Bhutan in managing and preventing the spread of COVID-19 effectively.

[59] 1 June: Four more people (two male and two female) who returned from the Middle East on 29 May 2020 and entered the quarantine facilities in Thimphu tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in Bhutan to 47.

[62] 138 more Bhutanese people, including some from Qatar, Bahrain, USA, UK, Brazil, Netherlands and Italy who flew via Doha, arrived at Paro International Airport, and were all taken into quarantine.

Three individuals were declared as having recovered after completing a two-week period of de-isolation and then testing negative on RT-PCR, taking the total cumulative figure for recoveries to 14.

[66] 10 August: A 27-year-old woman who completed her quarantine tested positive after she moved back home, resulting in a national lockdown and contact tracing lasting as much as 72 hours all the way from Paro, Thimphu, Wangdue, Tsirang and Gelephug.

[citation needed] 16 August: A four year old baby daughter of a worker who worked in the mini-port in Phuntsholing tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the total of confirmed cases to 133.

[citation needed] Uniquely, His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck commanded the Royal Bhutan Army to start feeding stray animals on the streets so they would not go hungry during the current period of national lockdown.

[citation needed] 26 August: After the Phuntsholing COVID-19 rise incident, His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and the government announced a mass COVID-19 test by the Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) process will take place.

31 August: His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck totally sealed the Indian Military Training Team and the Border Roads Organisation, as well as other foreign diplomacies, for 10 days.

[69] In only a single week, over 85% of Bhutan's adult population had received their first vaccine jab, a rate far faster than any other country in the world.

[70] The King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, is reported to be waiting to be vaccinated "only after every eligible person in the country received their shots safely.

[76] Farmers reported large increases in sales, as Bhutanese buy local produce because of pandemic-induced import hurdles.