KARACHI: The city’s deputy commissioner on Saturday ordered the closure of 11 areas of the metropolis where new cases of coronavirus patients had been identified as Sindh’s infected tally continues to surge.
The areas being sealed include: “UC – 6 Gillani Railways, UC – 7 Dalmia, UC – Jamali Colony, UC – 9 Gulshan II, UC – 10 Pehalwan goth, UC – 12 Gulzar e Hijri, UC – 13 Safora, UC – 14 Faisal Cantt, UC – 2 Manzoor Colony, UC – 9 Jacob Line, and UC – 10 Jamshaid Quarters”.
These areas have been sealed in “larger public interest and to prevent a widespread outbreak of novel coronavirus,” according to a notification put out by Deputy Commissioner East Ahmed Ali, adding that “the UCs will be de-sealed once the situation improves”.
The Rangers and Karachi police have been instructed to cordon off these localities to ensure public safety whereas there will be a complete ban on the movement of residents of the UCs unless necessary.
It is pertinent to mention here that a serious mix-up in the numberings of UCs contained in the notice was reported on a local media 0utlet.
According to reports, several of the numbers mentioned in the notification are wrongly attributed to the names of neighbourhoods. Gilani Railway is a part of UC-22, not UC-6; Dalmia is UC-23, not UC-7; Jamali Colony is UC-24, not UC-8; Gulshan Town is UC 27, not 10; Gulzar-e-Hijri is UC-29, not UC-13; Safoora is UC-30, not UC-13; Jacob Lines is UC-10, not UC-9, and Jamshed Quarters is UC-13, not UC-10.
Earlier in the day, Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah said that the province is presenting a dismal picture in terms of new coronavirus cases and death toll despite stringent lockdown measures ordered by the provincial government.
In a video message issued Saturday afternoon, Shah said the province had recorded six deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the provincial tally to 28.
He noted that on April 11, there were 104 positive cases reported within just a 24-hour period.
