Coronavirus Cases in Sikkim: Around 155% of new cases in the second wave compared to first. (File)
In an alarming trend, Sikkim has reported at least 49 per cent of its COVID-19 deaths in the second wave of the pandemic that swept the country earlier this year. About 181 of the casualties reported during the period were solely due to the virus and not due to comorbidities among the patients.
The state also recorded around 155 per cent of new cases in the second wave compared to the first wave, according to the latest data submitted by the state health department to Chief Minister PS Golay. Eighty-seven deaths were caused due to Covid while 94 deaths were reported due to other serious diseases, the data showed.
Since March last year, the Himalayan state, which has a population of less than 7 lakh, has lost 319 of its residents due to the virus, of which 136 were reported in the first wave.
The comorbid death in the first wave was 112, that is 82 per cent of the total casualties so far - and at least 33 per cent more than in the second wave.
The second wave was recorded in the frontier state of Northeast India from April this year, and the 136 deaths were recorded in just a little over two months when the country showed an average of over 18.37 per cent positivity rate. It was 7.4 per cent in the first wave that was chronicled between March last year to April this year -- 13 months.
The second wave witnessed a case fatality ratio (CFR) of 1.1 per cent, maintaining 0.70 per cent in April, 1.44 per cent in May, 1.03 per cent in June and 0.44 per cent in July, the data revealed.
Meanwhile, the hospital admission ratio steadily declined in Sikkim from 17 per cent in March to 8.7 per cent in May, and 9.76 per cent in June during the peak of the second wave. The hospital admission rate for the 15 days of July was 6.23 per cent, according to the data.
The recovery rate, however, remains a matter of concern, with the state reporting a lower rate compared to the national average. While the recovery rate was 87 per cent in April, it dropped down to 71 per cent in May, scaling back to 87 per cent in June and edging to 88 per cent in July so far.