KARACHI: The Government of Sindh on Friday directed all citizens to completely isolate themselves over the weekend. It is essential that everyone remain in their houses over the weekend, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said.
The directives were issued after a meeting of the Sindh cabinet in which the provincial situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak was discussed in detail.
"The real worry is the rising number of local cases," Shah was quoted as saying.
Cases attributed to community spread have risen to 51 in Sindh. More than 150 others cases are attributable to pilgrims from Iran, who came in to Pakistan via Taftan and are currently quarantined in Sukkur.
"I am appealing to the people to stay at home," he said. "We have to keep ourselves and our children safe."
Meanwhile, close to 2,000 suspected cases were brought to public hospitals on Friday, of which only a few could be tested at the time this story was published.
Likewise, more than 700 cases were reported by private hospitals, of which only five had been tested so far.
More than 3,700 passengers also flew in to Karachi on 31 flights, who were screened for the virus at the airport.
Inspector-General of Police (IGP) for Sindh Mushtaq Mehar said late Friday no more than five people should gather in the cars, on the roads or any other location and that legal action would be taken in case of violation.
"The first and foremost action against a pandemic is to limit people's movement. People should reduce their travelling [inside the city] to as less as possible," Mehar added.
Unnecessary meeting, gatherings, and social communication should be avoided, the IG noted, adding that police should issue a clear guidance on the limitation on people's movement.
The government of Sindh refuted claims of a curfew in Karachi, with the provincial education minister, Saeed Ghani, saying reports on social media about a curfew in the metropolis were wrong.
"No such decision has been made. We have only appealed to the people to stay inside their homes on March 21, 21, and 23 — the Pakistan Day public holiday," Ghani said. "People should not go outside during these three days."
Separately, the provincial education minister said on Twitter no decision had been made to impose a province-wide lock-down or curfew. CM Shah, he added, had appealed to people to stay inside their homes on the aforementioned three days.
"I also request the media not to spread any information without confirmation in this emergency situation," he added.
The spokesperson for Sindh's health minister, Meeran Yousuf, also reiterated on Twitter the advice to remain at home and not venture out unnecessarily.
"The government is working really hard to contain this but honestly all our efforts will go down the drain if the people do not help and act responsibly.
"The 1 person who died had no travel or contact history," Yousuf added.