Daily Times

KARACHI: A total lockdown is to be imposed till August 8 by the Sindh government as the province continues to battle a dangerous escalation in COVID-19 infections on Friday and would go into effect from Saturday.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah chaired a meeting which included the coronavirus task force and was attended by provincial ministers, medical experts and representatives of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) on Friday.

The Sindh health department had advised for a two-week lockdown to the task force, while medical experts had proposed a two-week ban on inter-city transport.

A proposal was also made to close all educational institutions and educational activities for two weeks.

The National Command and Operation Centre had opposed the idea of a complete lockdown in Karachi and the head of the NCOC, Asad Umar, said that closing the entire city for weeks is not a cure.

The Sindh government, however, stated that the federation’s decision was not apt as the only immediate solution to bring down virus cases was a lockdown.

Decisions taken in the coronavirus task force meeting

The lockdown goes into effect from tomorrow. Here are some of the key decision that were made:

• Government offices will be closed from next week.
• Those who do not get vaccinated will not get their salary after August 31.
• Vaccination cards of anyone roaming the streets will be checked.
• The Export industry will remain open.
• All markets in the province will remain closed, but pharmacies will stay open.
• Inter-city transport will be closed.