Sindh tightens curbs as Pakistan’s Covid cases top one million

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: Alarmed by the spiralling coronavirus infections in Sindh, authorities on Friday announced a slew of restrictions — and a renewed push to block SIM cards for the unvaccinated — in the province from next week as Pakistan became the 30th country to have recorded more than one million cases.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Pakistan reported 1,425 new infections in the day leading to Friday, taking the total infections to 1,000,034. Active infections numbered 53,623 and the positivity ratio stood at 5.65 per cent.

Sindh’s positivity ratio was nearly double the national average at 10.3 per cent. The state of the contagion in urban areas like Karachi was even worse, with 21.58 per cent of the tests turning out positive, largely blamed on vaccine hesitancy and flouting standard operating procedures (SOPs).

From Monday, the Sindh government’s Task Force on Coronavirus decided that shopping malls and markets will be allowed to operate from 6am to 6pm, while grocery stores, bakeries and pharmacies will be allowed to operate as usual. Marriage halls and other functions have been banned, while shrines will be closed. Authorities have also banned indoor and outdoor dining at the restaurants, which will only be allowed to offer takeaway and delivery services. Education institutions in Sindh will also remain closed, but exams will be held as per schedule.

The provincial Health Secretary, Kazim Jatoi, told the task force that 85 per cent of the patients admitted to Sindh’s hospitals were unvaccinated. The Sindh government will now write to the NCOC and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to get the mobile SIMs of unvaccinated people blocked, according to Adviser to the Sindh Chief Minister Murtaza Wahab.

A spokesperson said the PTA would be asked to send messages to users asking them to get vaccinated and block the SIMS of those not getting the jab within a week. The chief minister also ordered halting the salaries to unvaccinated government employees from next month, and the instructions have been issued in this regard to the secretary finance.