PTI leader blames PPP govt for spread of COVID-19 in Sindh

On the completion of 100 days after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Pakistan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Karachi president Khurram said on Thursday that because of the “incompetence” of the Sindh government, the coronavirus infection and death rate has increased in the province.

Sherzaman, an MPA, said that the first corona case in the country was reported in Karachi on February 26, and since then, 32,910 people had been infected with the coronavirus in Sindh. “The Sindh government had sufficient time to improve the condition of public hospitals to prepare them to deal with the pandemic, but instead of doing so, they intentionally made the condition of the government hospitals worse by providing financial and technical assistance to private hospitals,” he said.

“Because of the Sindh government’s failure to come up with a comprehensive policy to combat the coronavirus threat, the issue has become severe and the virus is spreading rapidly across the province,” he said.

He said that the health department had become the worst from the beginning. He regretted the performance of the Sindh health system under 12 consecutive years of the PPP rule.

“They [health department] did not even provide personal protective equipment to doctors and other healthcare workers, exposing them to the virus infection,” Sherzaman said. “Vaccines for dog-bites are not available in Sindh. The poor condition of Sindh is telling the story of the PPP’s 12-year rule.” He also questioned the government’s spending on fighting the coronavirus and its funding to some private health facilities.

He said the Pakistan Peoples Party’s provincial government had left the province at the mercy of the coronavirus. If people get tested for the coronavirus at a government hospital, the result is positive, but if they undergo a test at a private lab, the result is negative, he said.

The Sindh government should stop playing with the lives of the people, he said. “The people of Sindh want to get rid of the corrupt and incompetent PPP government.”