'Not a Complete Lockdown', clarifies Sindh CM Shah

Murad Ali Shah said that it is being said that "it is not as if the epidemic will end in nine days", but what must be assumed is that in this period "hospitals will not congest".

Shah said that the lockdown being put into practice now is not as severe as the one that was in place last year in March, and gave credit to the swift and steadfast lockdown in March 2020 as being one of the primary reasons for COVID infections not overwhelming the province.

He added that pharmacies, grocers and dairy shops, and export industries will not come under the lockdown restrictions.

However, said the restaurant will remain open only for deliveries.

The banks are open since they are regulated by the federal government but we will request them halving their staff to maintain social distancing, he said.

CM Shah said all the exams scheduled until next week, as long as the restriction-tightening is in place, are being postponed.

The Sindh chief minister said that the order extends to all of Sindh "but our focus is on Karachi because it is the worst off".

Answering a question concerning why a nine-day lockdown was announced, versus a 15-day one, Shah said that the task force, in its meeting, approved that this period — which amounts to five actual days of lockdown as four days will be regular off days for businesses anyway — will be one "that will cause minimum economic damage".

Shah said that after the meeting, he spoke to National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) chief Asad Umar, as well as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan "and both assured me of the Centre's cooperation".

"Whatever we have notified is after consultations and taking NCOC on board."

Shah, responding to whether private organisations will be required to remain shut, said that the government "is advising that they do remain shut or keep staff to a minimum".

"The purpose is for no one to exit their home, unless there is an emergency," he explained.

Earlier, The Sindh government had decided to impose a nine-day long ‘complete lockdown’ along with other coronavirus related restrictions in a bid to curb the spread of novel coronavirus.

The decision was taken by the provincial task force on coronavirus. A meeting of the task force was chaired by Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah.

Following the new directives, from tomorrow to August 8 intercity transport will be closed. Wedding halls, cinemas, tourist places, and school has been upheld while the decision to keep shops closed till 6 pm has also been supported.

Government offices will also remain closed from next week while the export industry will remain open.

Medical stores are exempted from the new restrictions, however, all markets will be closed till August 8.

In addition, vaccination cards of people walking on the streets will be checked thoroughly.

On the other hand, the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC) had opposed the complete lockdown.

It may be recalled that in Karachi the rate was 22.6 per cent, in Hyderabad, the rate of COVID positive cases was 9 per cent and in Sindh as a whole the rate was 13.4 per cent.