The Sikkim government onThursday decided to provide patients from the state who are stranded outside because of the lockdown with a one-time aid of Rs 30,000."With a view to mitigate the hardship of those patients who are undergoing treatment in various hospitals outside the State and are stranded due to the lockdown on account of COVID-19 pandemic, the State Government has decided to provide financial relief amounting to Rs 30,000 per patient from the Chief Ministers Relief Fund," said a notification issued in this regard by Chief Secretary S C Gupta.The government will also provide all ASHA workers with an honorarium of Rs 5,000 in view of their efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus infection in the state which has so far reported no COVID-19 patient.Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang informed Governor Ganga Prasad of these measures during a meeting at Raj Bhavan, an official statement said here.The chief minister also apprised Prasad of his recent visit to Rangpo and Melli check posts bordering West Bengal to take stock of the precautionary measures.The state government has extended the lockdown in Sikkim till May 3 following the decision of the Centre, Tamang said.He also briefed Prasad about the steps taken to distribute relief materials to the needy people.The state government has also launched a portal to inform people about the COVID-19 situation in the state.The governor handed over to the chief minister a cheque of Rs 11 lakh as a contribution made by Dharampal Gulati, CEO of MDH spices, to the Chief Minister's Relief fund.
