Sikkim CM urges people to continue to follow safety protocols

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Saturday urged the people to abide by safety protocols as there may be a possibility or more cases of COVID-19 with more people returning to the state.

"Though we have provided certain relaxations, I request our people to be cautious and follow safety protocols as there may be a possibility of more cases with people returning to the state," he said in a Facebook post after presiding over a high-level meeting with the State-Level Task Force.

The meeting was convened to take stock of the current situation arising out of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and also to strategise on the scenario once the fourth lockdown comes to an end on Sunday. Tamang said that barring detection of one positive case, Sikkim has been kept safe from the pandemic due to the collective effort and discipline of the people.

"We should continue to maintain discipline and put in collective effort to keep the pandemic at bay," the chief minister said. Tamang said his government was considering the gradual opening of restaurants, gyms, private schools, dance and music academy by observing the COVID-19 protocols.

He said that the evacuation of all stranded Sikkimese people remained the top priority of his government and added that a few citizens stranded in Maharashtra, a red zone area, will be evacuated soon after all the necessary transport requirements are fulfilled.

The state government was also providing economic packages to those people opting to stay where they were, Tamang said. The chief minister said that his government proposed to give relaxations like applying ODD/EVEN rule to both taxis and private vehicles from June one, but no inter-district movement of vehicles will be allowed until June 15. The gyms will be able to function with strict social distancing, limited entries and timing, he said, adding that in order to promote local tourism and also to revive the homestays/ hotels of Sikkim, educational tours for students will be conducted within the state.

The government offices will continue to function with 30 per cent of employees, while educational institutes will open for maintenance and preparations but classes will only resume after the month of June, the chief minister said.