Another five patients of the novel coronavirus died in Sindh over the past 24 hours, showing a mortality rate of 1.4 per cent and brining the death toll in the province since March 2020 to 8,067.
In his daily Covid-19 situation report on Saturday, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said 15,041 samples were tested and 309 cases emerged, constituting a two per cent detection rate.
So far 7,921,276 tests have been conducted, against which 564,148 cases have been detected. Of them 95.1 per cent, or 536,575 patients, have recovered, including 309 overnight.
Currently, Shah said, 19,506 patients were under treatment. Of them, 19,315 were in home isolation, 10 at isolation centres and 181 at hospitals across the province. The condition of 170 patients was stated to be critical, including 16 shifted onto ventilators. Out of the 309 new coronavirus cases, 81 were reported in Karachi. According to district-wise statistics, Hyderabad reported 54 cases, District South Karachi 39, District East Karachi 24, Mirpurkhas 21, Noushehro Feroze 19, Tharparkar 17, Sujawal 16, Matiari and Nawab Shah 15 each, Dadu 14, Jamshoro 13, Tando Allahyar 12, Sanghar and Korangi nine each, District West Karachi eight, Badin and Umarkot seven each, Larkana five and Karachi’s Central one case.
The report states that in the last 24 hours, 225,808 Covid vaccines had been given, while 47,409,658 vaccine doses have been administered till February 25, 2022. This means that 87.12 per cent of the vaccine-eligible population of the province has been inoculated against the deadly virus.
In view of the failing Covid cases, the Sindh home department had issued a new lockdown order on February 22 by giving relaxation to the business community, allowing them to continue their activities with fully vaccinated individuals. A notification issued in this regard said that a National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) letter dated February 21, 2022 has said the NCOC in a meeting agreed to relax the NPIs due to a decreasing incidence of the coronavirus. None of the city and district is having a positivity rate above 10 per cent, it says.
Accordingly, the Sindh home department, in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 3 (1) of the Sindh Epidemic Diseases Act 2014, issued an order on Tuesday for enforcement within the territorial limits of the province.
According to the notification, all types of gatherings, indoor or outdoor, are allowed with maximum 500 fully vaccinated individuals. For wedding and related ceremonies, 500 fully vaccinated individuals are allowed for indoor, while for outdoor ceremonies there will be no limit to the number of guests, but they must be fully vaccinated individuals. Indoor and outdoor dining is allowed for fully vaccinated individuals, and takeaway, drive through and home delivery is allowed 24/7. “The management is ordered to ensure entry of only vaccinated individuals and implement Covid SOPs.”
Moreover, the notification says, indoor gyms are allowed to open for fully vaccinated individuals only. Cinemas, shrines are amusement parks are allowed to open for fully vaccinated individuals. Furthermore, all sports are allowed for fully vaccinated individuals.