One more person tests positive in Sikkim, tally rises to 134

A 25-year-old man on Thursday tested positive to take the tally of COVID-19 cases in Sikkim to 134, a health official said.

The Director General of Police (DG)-cum-Secretary, Health, Dr Pempa T Bhutia, said that the man, who had returned from Bihar on June 29, was lodged in a paid quarantine centre in the state capital where his swab was taken for testing recently.

The patient has now been admitted to STNM Hospital, Bhutia said.

The number of active cases in Sikkim stands at 49, while 72 others have been cured of the disease, he said, adding that 13 patients have migrated.

Meanwhile, the health official said that all Sikkimese citizens including Residential Certificate holders and those with Voter ID Card will not be charged for COVID-19 tests.

Charges will only be applicable for non-Sikkimese people who do not possess Sikkim Subject/COI/RC/Voter ID Card, he said.

Bhutia said that the state government has decided to start antigen tests, at the earliest, for Army and paramilitary forces at Rangpo screening centre and the same will be done free of cost for the first 15 days. 

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