Gangtok: Sikkim recorded five deaths to COVID 19 on May 17, taking the state tally to 63 for May. Of these, 41 deaths have been recorded in the last six days. Four of the five COVID fatalities were recorded at the STNM Hospital, which has accounted for 166 deaths so far. The state COVID fatality now stands at 210.
Sikkim also recorded 70 new cases. The drop in numbers from 340 a day before could be largely attributed to no RT PCR testing on Sundays. There is no ruling from the State Health Department that RT PCR testing must be carried out on Sundays as well.
STNM Hospital, where the lab for all RT PCR testing is located, kept the lab closed on Sunday to allow the workforce to rest. “They are testing over 800 samples every day. They deserve a break at least for a day,” said a source from the Hospital Management.
Elsewhere, citizens have been vocal on opening the viral lab even on Sundays, given how the cases are rising every day with 200 plus cases regularly.
With no RT PCR testing, 190 tests were conducted with 176 RAT tests resulting in 65 testing positive. Fourteen Truenat-Cbnaat testing were conducted of which five tested positive.
Of the 70 new cases, 32 were recorded in East Sikkim taking the COVID tally to 8,375 in the district. Twenty-three were recorded in South Sikkim, taking the COVID tally to 1,885. Thirteen new cases were recorded in West Sikkim, taking the tally to 811. 2 new cases were recorded in North Sikkim, taking the tally to 199 in the district so far.
The active cases tally has dropped down from the 3,000-mark and stands at 2,937 active cases currently. The state tally of COVID cases so far has reached 11,480 cases. About 8123 recoveries have been recorded in the state, with 224 on Monday.
There are 218 patients admitted in different hospitals of the State, with 136 in STNM Hospital. The State’s premier hospital witnessed 12 new admissions with 17 patients in ICU. There are 119 patients in High Dependency Units and the COVID wards. Central Referral Hospital has 69 patients currently with eight new admissions and 4 in ICU with 65 in HDU and COVID wards.
There are 2,665 patients in home isolation in the state, with 1,856 in East Sikkim. 164 of them were new patients across the State, while there is no demarcation on how many of them were COVID positive cases.