Breaking: Sikkim Reports First-ever Case of Covid-19

Guwahati:

Amid the return of stranded citizens with the easing of lockdown restrictions, the state of Sikkim has finally reported its first case of the Coronavirus on Saturday, May 23.

The Sentinel Digital has received reports that the first positive patient from the state is a 25-year-old man who had returned to the state from New Delhi, recently. Confirming this, Dr Pemba Tshering Bhutia, the Director General cum Secretary of the Health Department, said that the afflicted man has now been admitted to the state's dedicated COVID-19 hospital -- STNM. According to reports, the youth is a UPSC aspirant who had gone to Delhi for coaching purposes. 

This development gains extra significance as the state's Education department is planning to reopen schools from June 15 next. Making an announcement yesterday, Sikkim education Minister Narendra Kumar Pradhan said that students from Classes KG to 8 will not be allowed to attend the classes. Moreover, the morning assembly session shall not be allowed in any of the schools and there will be strict observance of Government-prescribed social distancing rules, he added.

The Sikkim Government has also announced that there will be no holiday on Saturdays and the final examinations for the students will be held in February of 2021. All colleges will have classes as usual. The state had earlier closed down all educational institutions after the dreaded coronavirus landed on Indian shores. The entire country soon went into lockdown mode and the current phase of the lockdown, the fourth, is due to end on April 31.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned to The Sentinel Digital for more timely updates.