Covid-19 claimed 25 more lives in Sindh during the previous 24 hours, raising the death toll to 5,672 in the province. In the meantime, 908 patients were under treatment at different hospitals of the province, of whom the condition of 836 patients was said to be critical with 59 of them shifted onto life support.
In addition to 25 more deaths, another 1,466 cases emerged during the last 24 hours when 15,201 tests were conducted, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Thursday in his daily report on the Covid-19 pandemic situation in the province.
He explained that the diagnosis of 1,466 new cases against 15,201 samples constituted a 9.6 per cent current detection rate.
So far 4,742,252 tests for Covid-19 had been conducted in the province, against which 352,455 cases were diagnosed, of which 90.6 per cent or 319,445 patients had recovered, including 649 during the previous 24 hours, the CM added.
He said that currently a total of 27,338 patients were infected with the novel coronavirus in the province. Of them, 26,365 were in home isolation, 908 in different hospitals and 65 in isolation centres.
According to Shah, of the 1,466 new cases, 1,116 were detected in Karachi, including 391 in District East, 296 in District Central, 225 in District South, 87 in District Malir, 81 in District Korangi and 36 in District West.
In the rest of the province, Hyderabad had 61 new cases, Thatta 41, Matiari 35, Dadu 32, Sukkur 19, Shaheed Benazirabad 18, Naushehro Feroz and Jamshoro 13 each, Tando Muhammad Khan and Badin 11 each, Sanghar 10, Kashmore, Mirpurkhas and Tharparkar nine each, Sujawal and Umerkot eight each, Khairpur four and Jacobabad had three new cases.
The CM urged the people of Sindh to abide by the standard operating procedures issued by the government in order to prevent themselves and others from contracting the contagious disease.
As the number of Covid-19 cases continue to sharply rise in Sindh, the provincial government has started to impose restrictions on public gatherings. The provincial home department on Wednesday issued a notification, through which the provincial authorities ordered the closure of schools, parks, beaches and cinemas until July 31.
The notification reads: “In continuation and in partial modification of the home department’s orders of even number dated February 7, 2021 and July 9, 2021 (three orders), and in pursuance of the decisions taken in the Provincial Task Force on Covid-19 meeting held on July 14, 2021 to review the Covid-19 disease pattern, the Government of Sindh, in exercise of the powers under Section 3(1) of the Sindh Epidemic Diseases Act, 2014 (The Sindh Act VIII of 2015), is pleased to issue the following order for enforcement within the territorial jurisdiction of the province of Sindh.
“Indoor dining in all restaurants, hotels and cafes will remain closed from July 15, 2021 onwards, schools for students of classes I to VIII will remain closed from July 17, 2021. The teaching and non-teaching staff will, however, be present in their respective schools.
“Examinations for classes IX to XII will be conducted as per the schedule already issued by the respective educational boards under strict observance of the SOPs [standard operating procedures]. “Theme parks, amusement parks, water parks and swimming pools will remain closed from Friday onwards. Indoor gyms and indoor sports will also remain closed from Friday onwards.
“Public transport will operate with 50 per cent occupancy from July 15, 2021 onwards, and there is a complete ban on inland tourism, especially on visiting Seaview, other beaches, Hawkesbay, Keenjhar Lake, Al Manzar, Lab-e-Mehran. Moreover, cinemas will remain closed from July 15, 2021 onwards.
“In view of regular review and assessment at the level of NCOC [National Command & Operation Centre] and the provincial task force, these directions will be in force until July 31, 2021 or until varied, changed or withdrawn earlier.”