No decision made to relax or tighten lockdown in Sindh: info minister

Sindh Information and Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has said that no new decision had been made so far to relax or tighten the lockdown in the province.

The provincial minister said on Wednesday that the Sindh government was reviewing the situation, adding that the federal government would be consulted with before taking any new decision on the lockdown.

He said the shopkeepers should open their shops following the standard operating procedures earlier issued by the Sindh government and take all precautions.

Nasir said the coronavirus was still “present among us” and if we were careless, we could suffer huge losses. "It is better that we take all precautionary measures and not leave our homes unnecessarily," the minister said.

"No vaccine for the coronavirus has been invented so far, the only way to avoid it is to take precautions," he added. The provincial minister said that by taking precautions “we will protect not only ourselves but our loved ones as well”.

He asked the people not to pay attention to rumours, adding that whatever decision would be taken on the lockdown would be formally announced. The minister said the government alone could not fight the pandemic, and that the cooperation of the people was very important in this regard. "The more people cooperate, the more we will be able to protect ourselves during this pandemic," he said.

He said the Sindh transport minister was in talks with the transporters and their problems would be resolved soon. The minister said the Sindh government was aware of the problems of the business community, including the transporters, but the situation had become such that it was impossible to open everything at once. He said that as the situation improved, relief would be provided to the businessmen and the public.