Rise in COVID-19 cases: Sindh govt to contact Centre for tightening lockdown

KARACHI: The Sindh government and health experts have decided to contact the Centre and provinces to recommend tightening lockdown after expressing concerns over a report of World Health Organization (WHO) over COVID-19 cases in Pakistan.

The provincial government of Sindh and health experts have decided to contact the Centre and other provinces for making consensus over the reimposition of strict lockdown due to the rising number of coronavirus cases.

The Sindh government will take the Centre and provinces into confidence over the concerns raised by the WHO in its report.

The health experts and the Sindh government adopted the same stance that there was no other way except strict lockdown to curb the spread of the virus.

It is pertinent to mention here that the World Health Organization (WHO) had named Pakistan among the countries that are most affected by the pandemic. The international institution had suggested imposition of lockdown and an increase in testing capacity up to 50,000 in a day.

Read: Time has arrived to strictly implement SOPs against COVID-19: PM

A letter had also sent to the Pakistani government which urged for the implementation of strict lockdown measures after declaring Karachi and Lahore as the epicentre of the virus.

Earlier on Wednesday, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza had warned that lockdown could be reimposed across the country following a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases.

Zafar Mirza had said in a statement that Pakistan’s coronavirus cases and deaths were on the rise and urged citizens to follow government-mandated standard operating procedures (SOPs) against the virus.

“The number of coronavirus infections in the country will fall in the coming weeks,” said Mirza, adding that the government can reimpose lockdown if the Covid-19 situation gets worse.

Zafar Mirza had said that the government will strictly implement the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs), “We cannot defeat coronavirus in Pakistan until we adopt behavioral change,” added Zafar Mirza.

Commenting over the recommendation of WHO to impose a two-week lockdown, Mirza had said, “Such recommendation is not under consideration.”