July 27, 2020: The Sikkim government has extended the statewide lockdown till August 1 to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"After careful consideration of the situation, it has been decided to extend the period of lockdown in the entire state of Sikkim till 6 AM of August 1, 2020," a notification issued by Chief Secretary S C Gupta said.

A complete, six-day lockdown, imposed by the hilly state, was scheduled to end on Sunday.

The state reported its first COVID-19 death on Sunday after a 74-year-old man succumbed to the infection at a state-run hospital in Gangtok.

Sikkim has 357 active cases of COVID-19, while the total cases stand at 499, a senior health official said.

As many as 142 people have recovered from the disease.