KARACHI:
Pakistan's
Sindh
province is set to undergo a partial lockdown from Saturday till August 8 as the Covid-19 cases are surging in the country.
Dawn reported that the decision was announced by the Sindh chief minister
Murad Ali Shah
during a press conference.
According to the statement issued by the chief minister's office, restrictions will remain in place till August 8. However, businesses associated with the export sector will be allowed to operate.
There will be a ban on inter-city travel and all markets will remain closed. Pharmacies, however, will remain open.
Chief minister said due to the decisions taken by the provincial task force, Sindh was able to tackle the first, second and third waves of coronavirus relatively better than other provinces. "But in this fourth wave, the
Delta
variant is the main concern," he added.
He noted that Karachi was the most affected city now, saying the virus spread fast in closed spaces and cases would multiply if measures were not taken to curb it.
"Just a month ago, there were an average of 500 cases daily in Sindh by the end of June. And now by July's end, the number of daily cases has increased to 3,000," he said.
Pakistan is reeling the rising number of coronavirus cases due to the Delta variant. There have also been reports of a shortage of Covid-19 vaccines due to a financial crunch. Amid such pandemic times, the news of misuse of funds for Covid-19 aid distribution is a shocker for its general populace.
The country has reported nearly 4,500 new Covid-19 cases and 86 related deaths, of which 14 deaths were reported from Karachi in the last 24 hours on Friday.
In Karachi, the highest positivity rate was recorded in east district at 33%, followed by 21% in Korangi district and 19% in
west district
. South and Malir districts reported a positivity rate of 17%each, reported Dawn.