Sindh govt mulls extending virus lockdown

Ag Agencies

KARACHI: The Sindh government is mulling extending its province-wide virus lockdown past April 14 amid calls from industrialists and Pakistan-Tehrik-e-Insaf’s (PTI) provincial leadership, which is in the opposition in the province, to reconsider its strict restrictions.

While Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the federal government will decide on whether or not to ease countrywide restrictions with input from all the provinces after the ongoing lockdown ends early next week.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said he “wants to extend the lockdown for one week” after April 14, but he wanted all provincial governments to be on board and take “unified measures” to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which has infected more than 4,400 people and left over 64 dead nationwide.

The Sindh Chief Minister said the final decision on extending the lockdown will be taken by the provincial cabinet. However, he said if the federal government maintained restrictions for one more week, “the situation can be brought under control”.

Shah’s proactive containment approach has won his government praise from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and likely managed to stave off exponential growth in Sindh’s virus infections, which was last week overtaken by Punjab as the province with the highest number of Covid-19 cases crossing 2,100.

In contrast, the Imran Khan-led federal government has been open about its trepidation at imposing a nationwide lockdown, citing the lasting impact on the country’s economy and its underprivileged class. On Wednesday opposition PTI lawmaker in Sindh, Firdous Naqvi, urged the provincial government to “reconsider” its lockdown, and announce its strategy after April 14.

Shah also told journalists on Thursday that his cabinet was developing standard operating procedures (SOPs) for “every” sector, with a special focus on industries and factories. “If factories are opened up, they will have to operate with a minimal amount of employees,” Shah said.

However, Sindh’s lockdown will not be lifted “all at once”, Shah stressed, adding that the restrictions would be eased in “phases”. He also stated that the provincial government has been under pressure from industrialists, but its approach has received support from smaller traders. Shah also warned that — despite the federal government’s insistence — allowing construction sector to resume would “enable the disease to spread”.

The discussion came as SITE Association of Industry President Suleman Chawla demanded of the provincial government to “immediately finalise and provide trade bodies with SOPs against the Covid-19 pandemic”, asking “how long can industrialists keep their factories locked up”. In a separate development, seven members of a single family in Karachi were confirmed to have coronavirus. “What we feared has happened,” Shah said in a video statement earlier on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Quetta, where he said the decision about easing the countrywide lockdown will be taken after seeking input from all the provinces on the 14th of this month. “The provincial governments themselves will decide about the lockdown according to their situation,” Khan said.

However, he once again reiterated that a complete lockdown was “badly affecting the low income and labourer community”, particularly in Balochistan.

He also expressed pleasure that there was no patient of coronavirus in Balochistan in intensive care. The Prime Minister said the virus would have less of an impact in Balochistan, aside from Quetta, as the province’s population is scattered. “On the contrary, Covid-19 will have a greater impact in big cities like Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad.”

He also expressed fear that the number of virus cases in Pakistan would increase at the end of April, which would put more pressure on hospitals.

Earlier, the Prime Minister visited a quarantine centre at Quetta’s Bolan Medical College Hospital. He was accompanied by Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan, Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Soori and Sardar Yar Muhammad Rindh.