KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that said the province needs a strick lockdown for two more weeks to control the spread of coronavirus.
While addressing media on Monday, the Sindh CM said that the provincial government was being blamed unnecessarily.
“We cannot make decisions in isolation, the pandemic is affecting everybody. We started working on the issue when the first case was reported. We formed a task force, took help from wherever we could. I did not have any experience in dealing with a pandemic neither did my close aides — so, we learned from the world’s experience,” he said.
“We have been blamed for enforcing a lockdown without thinking — that is not true. There is only one way to deal with a pandemic,” he added.
“Even reports were surfacing of the PPP claiming that they have distributed rations among the needy but there was no proof. Nasir Shah and other provincial ministers have ensured that ration bags are delivered at homes to needy without any inconvenience. Our target is to avoid crowds and practice social distancing,” he added.
He said that the federal government didn’t listen to his advice of imposing lockdown earlier but followed Sindh’s footsteps soon after whereas it would have been much better to act as a team.
“We imposed a lockdown as per planning; first we closed schools, then shopping malls then recreational centres. Had we imposed a countrywide lockdown in mid-March as I had suggested in a meeting, the situation would have been different,” he said.
He added that the government is confused about whether to lift restrictions or continue imposing them.
Briefing on the situation of coronavirus in Sindh during the last 24 hours before his address, he said, “Around 31 people have succumbed to this disease so far in Sindh. 37 people are in quarantine and 317 are under treatment in various hospitals. Around 1,002 people are isolated in their houses”.
“We are urging people to maintain social distancing since day one. If I impose a decision to which people do not respond, it is a collective damage,” the Sindh CM warned.
“I agree that our economy has suffered the most due to the pandemic, but nothing is more important than human lives at the end of the day,” he remarked.
