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Thursday March 28, 2024

Sindh imposes lockdown to curb COVID-19 spike

The decision was taken in the provincial coronavirus task force meeting in Karachi

By Web Desk
July 30, 2021
Lockdown in Karachi. File photo
Lockdown in Karachi. File photo

KARACHI: The Sindh government Friday announced that a lockdown will be imposed in the province from tomorrow till August 8 to curb the COVID-19 spread which was spiralling out of control.

The decision was taken in a meeting of the Provincial Task Force at the CM House with Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah in the chair. Parliamentary leaders of political parties were also been invited to the meeting.

The meeting decided the government offices will be closed from next week while those who have not been vaccinated will not get their salaries after August 31.

It was also decided that police will be authorised to check the vaccination cards of anyone on the streets.

The provincial government has decided that all markets in the province will be closed. However, the export industry and pharmacies will be allowed to remain open.

NCOC to provide complete assistance to Sindh

Earlier, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) had decided to ensure all possible measures including critical care ramp up and deployment of law enforcement agencies to support the Sindh government’s fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.

The NCOC critically reviewed disease spread in Karachi and decided to take all possible measures to assist the provincial government in combating the rising trend of the disease.

The nerve centre of the country in its fight against the coronavirus contagion took to Twitter to announce the decisions taken in it’s daily session.

The forum wrote that the measures being undertaken by the federal government included ramp-up of critical care capacity including oxygenated beds and ventilators, availability of oxygen and deployment of law enforcement agencies (LEAs) for implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs).

High positivity ratio

It was earlier reported that a decision on whether a two-week lockdown will be imposed in Karachi or not will be taken today during the provincial task force on coronavirus meeting.

The Sindh health department had recommended clamping a two-week complete lockdown to contain the spread of the pandemic in Karachi as the positivity rate has gone beyond an alarming 30% in the megacity.

Given the unsettling circumstances of the COVID-19 re-surge in Karachi, the task force had received a strong proposal to impose a complete lockdown in the metropolis.

Medical experts and the health department had suggested halting inter-city and intra-city commute for two weeks.

Educational institutions had also been proposed to be closed for two weeks.