Gangtok, Aug 18 (PTI) Sikkim on Tuesday registered its second fatality due to COVID-19 while 20 new cases have pushed the state's tally to 1,207, an official said.

Director General (DG)-cum-Secretary, Health, Dr Pempa T Bhutia, said that the 56-year-old man was brought dead to STNM hospital here from the border town of Rangpo where a test conducted on him had confirmed that he was COVID-19 positive.

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The victim, a native of Bihar, was working at a pharmaceutical company in the border town, Bhutia said.

The first COVID-19 fatality in Sikkim was reported on July 26 when a 74 year-old man, a native of Rongli Sub- Division in East Sikkim, had died due to novel coronavirus though he had comorbidites like hypertension and diabetes.

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Meanwhile, the Himalayan state reported 20 new COVID- 19 cases, the official said.

All the 20 cases have come from East Sikkim district.

Sikkim has 450 active cases and 755 patients have been cured of the disease, while two persons have died due to the infection, he said.

As per district-wise break up, East Sikkim has registered the highest number of cases at 704, followed by 460 in South Sikkim, 42 in West Sikkim and one in North Sikkim, the official said.

Sikkim has tested 34,553 samples for COVID-19 so far, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)