Sindh govt notifies closure of its offices till April 3

The Sindh government on Wednesday formally issued a notification to shut its own offices and that of its subsidiary bodies from Thursday (today) till April 3, 2020, as a precautionary measure to prevent further transmission of coronavirus in the province.

The decision to this effect had been reached in a meeting of a task force on the coronavirus epidemic chaired by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Tuesday. The notification issued in this regard by Chief Secretary Mumtaz Ali Shah states: “In the wake of the recent outbreak of COVID-19, as a precautionary measure, and in pursuance of the Sindh Epidemic Disease Act 2014, the Government of Sindh has decided to close the following administrative departments, offices, autonomous and semi autonomous bodies, corporations under the administrative control of the Government of Sindh throughout the province with effect from 19th March 2020 to 3rd April 2020. However, administrative secretaries, senior offices, and the staff (of these departments) will remain available on phones.”

The departments whose offices are going to be closed include Auquaf, Religious Affairs, Zakat & Ushr Department; College Education Department; Cooperation Department; Culture, Tourism, Antiquities & Archives Department; Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities; Energy Department; Environment, Climate Change, and Coastal Development Department; Forest & Wildlife Department; Human Rights Department; Human Settlement, Spatial Development & Social Housing Department; Information Science & Technology Department; Industries & Commerce

Department; Inter-Provincial Coordination Department; Investment Department; Livestock and Fisheries Department; Mines and Mineral Development Department; Minorities’ Affairs Department; Population Welfare Department; School Education & Literacy Department; Social Welfare Department; Sports & Youth Affairs Department; Transport & Mass Transit Department; Universities & Boards Department; Women Development Department; and Works & Services Department.