COVID-19: Sindh govt imposes lockdown in Karachi till August 8

KARACHI (92 News) – The Sindh government has decided to impose an immediate lockdown in Karachi till August 8 on Friday.

This was decided in a meeting Corona Task Force chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah of the coronavirus task force.

It is worth mentioning here that the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) had opposed the idea of a complete lockdown in Karachi.

The meeting was attended by provincial ministers, medical experts and representatives of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA).

For the first time, parliamentary leaders of political parties were also invited to the COVID-19 task force meeting. Besides this, the Sindh Ranger DG was also invited.

The Sindh health department had proposed a two-week lockdown to the task force, while medical experts had proposed a two-week ban on inter-city transport.

A proposal was also made to close all educational institutions and educational activities for two weeks.

The Sindh government, however, had said that it does not care what the federation says and that the only immediate solution to bring down virus cases was a lockdown.

Key decisions in the Sindh coronavirus task force meeting

The lockdown goes into effect from tomorrow. Here are some of the key decision that were made:

• Government offices will be closed from next week.
• Those who do not get vaccinated will not get their salary after August 31.
• Vaccination cards of anyone on the streets may be checked.
• The Export industry will remain open.
• All markets in the province will remain closed.
• NCOC decides to help Sindh government

   

NCOC to assist Sindh government

Earlier today, the National Command and Operation Centre said that it has “critically reviewed” the disease spread in Karachi and decided to take all possible measures to assist the Sindh Government in combating the rising trend of the disease.

It remarked that the federal government has decided to ramp up critical care capacity, including oxygenated beds and vents, availability of oxygen, and deployment of LEAs for implementation of SOPs.

Karachi’s positivity rate has shot up to 30%.

The Delta variant has been spreading at an alarming rate and the positivity rate in Karachi has shot up to 30%.