Sikkim has announced complete lockdown from May 17 till 24 in view of continuous spike in Covid-19 cases in the Himalayan state, which has been under partial lockdown since May 6.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting of the state government chaired by Sikkim chief minister P. S. Tamang (Golay) in Gangtok on Monday.
“All state government offices, shops, including ration shops, private commercial establishments, institutions, gymnasiums, markets and factories, other than those engaged in the production of medicines, medical equipment, oxygen and allied sector shall remain closed,” said a notification issued by the home department.
Other than medicine shops, which were exempted from the lockdown, only shops selling milk will be allowed to operate from 7am to 11am, the notification added.
Despite the partial lockdown, Covid cases continued to increase in the state. The number of active cases in the state on Friday was 3,002. The death rate also witnessed a sharp rise with 60 people succumbing to the disease in the past 20 days.