Sikkim recorded its first Covid-19 fatality when a 67-year-old man from Rongli in East Sikkim died of the disease at the New STNM Hospital near Gangtok on Sunday morning.

The retired school headmaster had tested positive for the novel coronavirus and was admitted to the hospital on Saturday. The diabetic suffered from hypertension and was shifted to the ICU on Saturday night after his condition started to deteriorate. He died around 8.30am on Sunday.

His body was cremated at the Jalipool Crematorium later in the evening in the presence a few immediate members of his family by a dedicated team of Gangtok Municipality Corporation staff by following the standard operating procedure.

The senior citizen is the first person to succumb to Covid in the state which has witnessed an exponential rise in the number of positive cases this month: from 89 on June 30 to 499 till Saturday.

Sikkim was the last state in the country to be struck by the virus.

It was almost four months after the first reported case in Kerala on January 30.

The government also extended the ongoing lockdown in the state till August 1. The lockdown was imposed on July 21 following a spike in the number of cases.

Sikkim chief minister P.S. Golay expressed sadness at the death of the ex-headmaster and appealed to the people to remain calm.

He said all should continue to follow the guidelines to stop the spread of the virus.

“Although this (the death) is unfortunate, our doctors have been doing their best to combat and contain the virus. Let us pray for their safety,” he said.

His reference to the role of the doctors appears to be in light of a doctor of the New STNM Hospital testing positive for the pathogen on Saturday.

Former chief minister and Sikkim Democratic Front president Pawan Chamling also mourned the first Covid death in the state. “The first Covid-19 death has caused such deep grief and shock across Sikkim. I am personally shaken by the news. The gentleman who succumbed to the deathly attack of this killer virus was more than an ordinary citizen. He was an asset to Sikkim,” he said.