There will be no free quarantine facility for people returning to Sikkim after June 18 with the state government deciding to close down all such facilities, an official said on Wednesday.

Those wishing to return to Sikkim after June 18 can avail paid quarantine, the state”s nodal officer for evacuation/coordination Rinzing Chewang Bhutia said.

The decision has been taken in view of dwindling number of home-bound people though a total of 11,831 persons have registered themselves on the state government”s dedicated portal for evacuation out of whom 6,332 have already returned.

The state government has also decided to provide bus service to the returnees from SNT bus stand at Siliguri from June 18 and these buses will bring the home-bound people upto Rangpo and Melli check posts where they will undergo screening before being sent to paid quarantine facilities.

Sikkim has registered 13 COVID-19 cases ever since evacuation of stranded Sikkimese people commenced last month.

However, three of the 13 COVID-19 patients have recovered and there are now ten active coronavirus cases in the state.