A girl holds her sisters hand while standing at the social distancing marker waiting to enter a grocery store. After almost two months of national lockdown, the Himalayan state of Sikkim remained the only state in India with no positive COVID-19 cases. But the good time did not last. The first case was reported on May 23, 2020 and current COVID-19 active cases stand at 464 with 129 deaths by the first week of 2021.
Kunga Tashi Lepcha is an independent photographer based out of Sikkim, India. He is also a member of The Confluence Collective, a collective of photographers and researchers working towards creating a common platform to bring together visual and oral stories of the Darjeeling – Sikkim Himalayas.