The Sindh government on Tuesday decided to bring an ordinance in order to provide relief to people amid the province-wide lockdown due to novel coronavirus.
The decision was made in an emergency meeting chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in Karachi. The meeting was attended by senior provincial ministers.
The meeting decided to provide relief to people of Sindh and also making lockdown stricter amid the coronavirus pandemic. CM Murad has directed his Advisor on Law Murtaza Wahab to prepare an ordinance in this regard.
It was also agreed in meeting to take strict action against owners of mills found involved in the violation of lockdown. The cabinet members informed the meeting that the owner of the well-known textile factory was recently arrested after he violated the lockdown orders amid coronavirus pandemic.
The meeting decided to seal factories defying government orders as well besides arresting the owner of that particular factory. The meeting also formed a committee under the leadership of Minister for Education Saeed Ghani to decide matters related to the reduction in school fees.
Moreover, Murad Ali Shah also ordered IGP Sindh and chief secretary to strict lockdown across the province. Earlier in the day, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah confirmed that 16 more people have recovered from the COVID-19 in Karachi.
Charing a meeting in Karachi, the chief minister Murad Ali Shah said that as many as 309 patients have recovered from COVID-19 thus far. He said that 54 new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Tuesday, taking the provincial tally to 986.
Murad Ali Shah further said that one more patient has died from the novel coronavirus today, while overall 10219 coronavirus tests had been conducted in the province so far.As per breakup, 16 of the deceased were from Karachi and 2 deaths were reported in Hyderabad.
As many as 662 people are under treatment in the various hospitals of the province, he added. Sindh CM also paid tribute to Dr Qadir Somroo who lost his life due to coronavirus on Monday night.
Meanwhile, in wake of the rise of the novel coronavirus pandemic cases across the country, the doctors on Tuesday advised Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to extend lockdown in the province to curb the spread of the pandemic.
According to sources, the doctors while expressing concern said that if the lockdown is not extended in Sindh province, the number of coronavirus patients will increase which would collapse the country’s healthcare system.The sources said that the Sindh CM has decided to hold consultation over the doctors’ suggestion. On the other hand, the lockdown in the province has caused billions of rupees loss and given this situation, the provincial government has decided to bring ordinance to provide relief to various segments.
On the other hand, Murad Ali Shah met private hospitals’ heads on Tuesday and appealed for their help in fighting COVID-19 in the province.
“I will need your expertise in this fight,” Shah said during the meeting with hospital executive directors and CEOs. “It’s a big fight and the government can’t do it alone. I want to take you all on board,” the chief minister said, as the total number of COVID-19 patients in Sindh reached 986.
Around 54 new cases were confirmed in the morning, said the health department. These included 45 new cases of local transmission in Karachi, seven new cases of local transmission in Tando M Khan and one new case each in Hyderabad and Shaheed Benazirabad.
One death was also reported in Karachi on Tuesday. The death toll from the virus now stands at 18, according to the Sindh health department. Sixteen patients recovered from the virus in Karachi bringing the total recoveries to 269 in the province. However, only 10,233 COVID-19 tests have been carried out.
“We are unable to carry out the number of tests we should be doing because of the shortage of kits,” the chief minister said. He told the private sector that extra beds had been arranged in public hospitals for patients though the government’s resources were scarce.
“All private hospitals are ready to help the Sindh government,” said Dr Asim of Ziauddin Hospital. However, we need personal protective equipment, medicines and testing kits, said Dr Salman Farid of Liaquat National Hospital. If the government helps us with supplies we will be able to treat patients at lower costs.
