Coronavirus lockdown should be extended by two more weeks: CM Murad

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Monday said that country-wide lockdown should be extended for two more weeks in order to stop the spread of coronavirus, ARY News reported.

Addressing a news conference in Karachi along with other Sindh ministers, Murad Ali Shah said that lockdown across the country should be extended by two more weeks as there are reports that COVID-19 cases will increase in Pakistan.

“Coronavirus outbreak is a global issue and it has gripped the entire world, we need to realize that the COVID-19 has nothing to do with just one province. We cannot make decisions in isolation, the pandemic is affecting everybody,” he added.

Speaking about the number of cases in the province, Shah said the Sindh had recorded one more death to take the provincial tally to 31.

He said that 41 new cases of coronavirus surfaced in the province, while 30 patients have recovered during the past 24 hours. CM Murad Ali Shah said that 569 new tests were conducted today and 41 of them turned to be positive.

He said, “So far, 13,850 tests have been conducted for the COVID-19 and 1452 of them turned to be positive.” The chief minister informed that 419 of the diagnosed patients recovered and discharged from the hospitals.

Murad for collective policy to tackle outbreak

Commenting over the collective efforts to tackle the pandemic, Murad Ali Shah said that Pakistan can only defeat this deadly virus by adopting a collective policy.

“I want a national consensus. Sindh government can not do it alone. We need a collective policy to fight coronavirus pandemic,” he urged.

He said that Sindh govt started working on the issue when the first COVID-19 case was reported on February 26 in Karachi, adding that he didn’t have the experience to deal with the pandemic, but he took key decisions to form the world’s experience.

“I did not have experience in dealing with a pandemic neither others. We learned from the world’s experience,” Shah added.

He warned that if the virus reaches rural areas it will become difficult for every province to stem the spread as there are limited resources and literacy in those areas.