KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah on Sunday stressed the need of carrying out joint efforts on the provincial level to fight coronavirus as various areas in the port city came under partial and complete lockdowns.
According to the details, the Sindh CM would be contacting all provincial chief ministers for discussing the pandemic induced situation in the country in an effort to make joint efforts to fight COVID-19.
The areas that have most recently come under special lockdown measures include parts of Karachi’s District East, which were sealed on Sunday after the authorities identified certain areas as hotspots for the coronavirus.
These areas include Johar Mor, Johar Chowrangi, Rashid Minhas Road, Gulistan-e-Johar, Dalmia, Pehlwan Goth where containers and trucks were lined up to enforce partial lockdowns.
However, a complete lockdown was observed in Umerkot as the police raided different areas to tighten movement restrictions.
Overall, all business and social activities in the port city remained standstill as bazaars and markets remained completely closed. Government offices and all educational institutes also remained closed. Only retail shops were opened to provide necessary daily use items to the citizens.
The government also announced the suspension of railway operations across the country besides halting international flights to control the virus.
Police and Rangers have been deployed across the city to ensure that government orders are followed.
A low number of motorcycles, cars and other vehicles were seen plying the roads for necessary chores. Hospitals and medical stores, however, remained open to cater to the needs of patients.
Earlier on Saturday, a notification issued by the deputy commissioner’s office identified 11 union council, comprising areas in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Mehmoodabad, Lines Area, PIB Colony and Jamshed Quarters to be sealed off to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
However, the Sindh government backed down from its decision to cordon off neighbourhoods in the city’s East zone less than six hours after making the announcement.
Sindh Information Minister Sindh Nasir Hussain Shah had later clarified that the government will not seal entire union councils, rather “only those specific areas where cases have been reported will be sealed”.
“It will cause great inconvenience to the people if such large areas are completely closed off,” he said.
According to the earlier notification, the step was being taken under Sindh Epidemic Disease Act (2014) and “in the larger public interest to prevent a widespread outbreak of novel coronavirus”.
“To curb this pandemic we have to take some big steps,” the government official said, adding that measures will be taken to continue the supply line in the areas.
It may be noted here that the total number of population in these 11 UCs is 774,704, of which the Faisal Cantonment area, which also falls under them, has the highest number of 98,668 individuals.
The metropolis’ Gulshan-e-Iqbal locality is the most-affected area from the COVID-19 virus, a report released Thursday by the Sindh health department indicated.
Of all cases in Karachi, the highest number was recorded in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, at 127, whereas Saddar followed with 109 cases, the department’s statistics showed.
Jamshed Town was ranked third, at 42 positive COVID-19 cases, followed closely by Malir, at 41 patients. At least 30 individuals tested positive for the virus in North Karachi.
Two cases each were reported in Balda Town and Gadap Town, while one was confirmed in North Nazimabad, the Sindh health department report noted.
According to the statistics, 70 per cent of the patients being infected by the virus are men while 30 per cent are women.
It must be noted that confirmed coronavirus cases on Sunday reached 5,038 in the country as 86 people have died from the infection till to date, according to the national dashboard.
According to the available statistics, overall 5,171 cases have been reported in the country, with 88 deaths so far.
Punjab has the highest number of infections up to 2,464, 1,411 in Sindh, 697 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 229 in Balochistan, 216 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), 119 in Islamabad and 35 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
The country has conducted 61,801 COVID-19 tests, including 2,805 on Sunday, whereas, at least 1,026 patients have recovered from the disease and 37 are in critical condition.
