The Sikkim government has started work on setting up a laboratory at the New STNM Hospital in Sochaygang near here to conduct tests for Covid-19.

P.T. Bhutia, the director general-cum-secretary of the Sikkim health department, said the lab would come up on the ninth floor of the hospital within two months. “We are making the lab according to the ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) guidelines,” he said.

The ICMR is also funding the lab.

“We received Rs 1.2 crore from the ICMR about 12 days ago. With that, we have started the construction of the viral lab,” said Bhutia, adding that prior to the beginning of the work, three experts, including a bio-medical engineer, had been sent to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri to get a first-hand knowledge of the operation of the lab there.

As of now, Sikkim sends swab samples for Covid-19 tests to the NBMCH lab that was set up last month.

Radio lessons

The Sikkim government has decided to air lectures for school students on All India Radio and some cable television channels, apart from the online sessions being conducted through dedicated apps.

G. P. Upadhyaya, the additional chief secretary in-charge of Sikkim education department, said the idea was to reach out to the maximum number of students.

“We are reaching out to them in a big way through whatever means which are available to us so that no child is deprived of the opportunity to learn,” he said.

Upadhyaya said arrangements were also being made to deliver mid-day meals to the students during the lockdown. “We are going to call the parents and hand over to them the quota of rice and the cooking cost,” he said.