Sikkim reported 97 cases of Delta variant of COVID-19 on Monday. The state government sent 98 samples to a West Bengal lab for genome testing out of which 97 samples have tested positive for the Delta variant.
State health minister MK Sharma said on Monday that 98 random samples were sent to Kalyani in West Bengal for genome testing on June 23.
"Of those, 97 samples have tested positive for the Delta Variant of COVID-19," the health minister said.
"The Delta Variant is not just highly transmissible, but it makes the patient serious with minimum symptoms. I urge people to come to the hospital as early as possible," Sharma said.
He further stated that the COVID-19 positivity rate in Sikkim has been at 18.6% in July so far. "We can now conclude that the positivity rate hasn't gone down because of the spread of Delta Variant in Sikkim. The COVID fatality is at 0.59, which is not so worrisome," he added.
The minister added that a total lockdown of Sikkim won't be possible at this point. "But micro containment of wards and villages is being carried out.
The health minister further stated that the government will now follow up on samples of patients who have already recovered and checked out of hospitals. "This will help us understand high COVID positivity in certain areas and communities of Sikkim in relation to the presence of Delta Variant for better containment measures."
While there have been reports from other Indian states on the third wave of COVID-19, the health minister insisted that Sikkim was still dealing with the second wave of the coronavirus.
