No choice except imposing lockdown in Sindh, says CM Murad

KARACHI: Sindh government has decided to enforce complete lockdown in the province as Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah will make an important announcement today over the coronavirus outbreak, ARY News reported.

CM Murad chaired the 24th session of task force meeting in Karachi in which it was decided to impose a provincewide lockdown after the number of COVID-19 climb to 357 in Sindh.

According to sources, CM Murad will make an important announcement regarding lockdown this evening. Murad Ali Shah said that shops dealing in medicine, vegetables and general stores will remain open during the period.

The Sindh government on Saturday sought Pakistan Army’s help to deal with the deadly virus.

In a letter to the Ministry of Interior, the Sindh government requested to deploy armed forces in aid to the civil power in the province under Article 245 of the constitution.

It must be noted that the total number of novel coronavirus cases in Pakistan rose to 644 after new COVID-19 cases were reported from all provinces.

According to the latest statistics released by the government, 292 cases of coronavirus were reported from Sindh, 152 from Punjab, 103 from Balochistan, 31 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10 from Islamabad, 55 from Gilgit-Baltistan and one case of coronavirus was reported from Azad Kashmir.

Three virus-related deaths have been reported in the country so far, two of them in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one in Karachi. Whereas, five patients have been released from hospital after full recovery.