Coronavirus: 5.94 lakh screened in Sikkim

Gangtok, Mar 23 (PTI) A total of 5.94 lakh people entering Sikkim have been screened amid the coronavirus outbreak, the health department said on Monday.

Of the total number of people who were screened at five inter-state border check-posts till March 21, coronavirus-like symptoms were found in four of them, it said in a release.

"Swab and blood samples of three of the four persons were sent for tests. They have tested negative for coronavirus," it said.

Of the people screened, 135 have been put under observation and 13 of them have completed the 28-day observation period, the release said.

Three quarantine centres have been set up at Majitar, Rangpo and Karfectar, it said.

The Health Department has also set up isolation wards at four hospitals, the release said.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary S C Gupta reviewed the preparedness of various departments to deal with the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Gupta, chairing a meeting of the state task force, directed the law department to implement the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897 in Sikkim in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

He asked the Food and Civil Supplies Department to ensure that there was no rise in prices of essential commodities and asked it to explore possibilities whether it could give PDS supply of two months in advance to the beneficiaries.

Gupta asked the district collectors to mandatorily quarantine people returning from coronavirus-hit countries.

The chief secretary said that two floors of the Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial Hospital, Sochakgang be converted into a dedicated facility for treating COVID-19 patients.

He said that pharmaceutical firms may function normally but asked them not to bring in new workers.

(Image source - PTI)