CM Shah concerned on violation of SOPs in markets

KARACHI: Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah expressed concerns on Monday over vilation of standard operational procedure (SPO) in markets which were reopened today after two month’s closure.

Markets were allowed to open across the province from today after an agreement with the traders that they would ensure implementation of safety measures. The permission was given after the National Cordination Committee decision to ease lockdown restrictions in the country.

Expressing concern on the situation, CM Shah said, "the markets have been opened under an SOP but sorry to [see that] most of the shops and markets were crowded.”

"He hoped that the people would understand [the gravity of the] situation and would follow the SOP," the statement read.

The chief minister said that cases were spiking in the city, therefore he has decided to establish a COVID-19 hospital in Gulshan-E-Iqbal for which he has released Rs1.8 billion. “It will be a 400-bedded hospital with a 100-bedded ventilator facility,” he said.

Meanwhile, informing about the current situation of the pandemic he said 537 new cases of the novel coronavirus had emerged in Sindh over the past twenty-four hours, which was 14% of the testing capacity of the province.

CM Shah further said that out of the confirmed infections over the past day, 432 belonged to Karachi. 11 people were also confirmed to have passed away from the virus across the province over the past day.

The death toll from the virus in Sindh reached 200 a a result, CM Shah told the media. 22 new virus infections were confirmed in Sukkur, 19 in Shikarpur, 7 in Larkana and 4 Hyderabad, the chief minster said.