Coronavirus: The monks have been shifted to Saramsa Garden isolation center.
New Delhi:
Nearly 100 Buddhist monks have tested positive for coronavirus in Sikkim. The state government is closely monitoring each and every Buddhist monastery, officials said.
Till Sunday, the total number of monks tested in two monasteries were 158. The positivity rate among the monks is 62.02 percent.
The total number of tests conducted in the state is 2,013. Out of which 611 people in the state have tested positive for coronavirus.
Thirty-seven Buddhist monks tested positive from Dharma Chakra Centre in Rumtek Monastery, a world heritage site, 30 kilometres away from Gangtok.
The Gunjang Monastery in Sikkim has been declared a containment zone until further orders after more than 61 Monks tested positive for COVID-19. The monks have been shifted to Saramsa Garden isolation center.
Robin Sewa, Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Gangtok said, “The monastery has been declared as containment zone that would restrict any movement. The other monks of the monastery and those who have come in contact with them are also being traced and tested.”
As the coronavirus cases continue to rise in the state as well as across country, the Sikkim government extended the ongoing lockdown for another week.
On Sunday, Sikkim reported 324 fresh COVID-19 cases, raising the tally to 13,132, while the death count climbed to 224 after three more patients died, the health department said on Sunday.
The Himalayan state now has 3,317 active cases and 9,381 people have so far recovered, it said. The fresh cases include 204 from East Sikkim, West Sikkim (69) and South Sikkim (51).