Sindh govt denies imposing stricter lockdown measures after Eid

KARACHI: Sindh government on Tuesday denied reports of imposing stricter restrictions on movement after Eid holidays in the province amid surge in coronavirus pandemic as provincial ministers said that no new decision on lockdown was taken by the provincial authorities recently, ARY NEWS reported.

“The ongoing lockdown will remain implemented until May 31,” the provincial ministers said adding that same standard operating procedures (SOPs) would remain apply as notified.

“Any new decision on lockdown will be taken after consultation with the federal government,” they said.

It is pertinent to mention here that as many as 537 new cases of the novel coronavirus were confirmed in Sindh over the past 24 hours, rising the tally of infections to 23,507 across the province.

In a video statement on the coronavirus situation on Sunday, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said 537 new infections were detected when 2,327 tests were conducted.

Five more people died from the disease in the previous 24 hours, taking the number of fatalities to 374 in the province, he added.

A total of 161,628 tests have been conducted in the province, the CM disclosed.

He said 248 patients are in critical condition, of them 49 are on ventilators. 542 more people recuperated from the disease and discharged to their respective homes as the number of people defeating the deadly virus has surged past the 8,000 mark.

He said he shared the pain of bereaved families of Covid-19 victims and prayed for recovery to those under treatment.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan has crossed the 58,000 mark after 1,356 cases reported during the past twenty-four hours.

According to the latest figures released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 20,654 cases have so far been detected in Punjab, 23,507 in Sindh, 8,080 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 3,468 in Balochistan, 1,728 in Islamabad, 630 in Gilgit-Baltistan, and 211 in Azad Kashmir.

With 30 more coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours, the national tally of fatalities has jumped to 1,197.