ISLAMABAD: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said on Tuesday his province was witnessing an “abnormal” spike in COVID-19 cases, adding that the situation in Karachi was particularly “alarming and critical” since the coronavirus positivity ratio had crossed 26 percent in the city.
“The chief minister reviewed the overall COVID-19 situation [in the province] and termed it alarming,” said an official statement released by his office after a meeting of the Provincial Task Force on Coronavirus earlier today.
The province’s health secretary Dr. Kazim Jatoi briefed the task force, saying that COVID-19 positivity ratio in Sindh had reached 12.7 percent while it was recorded in Karachi at 26.32 percent on July 26.
“This is quite a critical situation,” the chief minister said in response.
He directed the provincial health department to conduct more COVID-19 tests in Karachi and trace the contacts of infected individuals to limit the spread of the disease.
The Sindh administration announced new restrictions last week as the country grappled with a surge in coronavirus cases fueled by the local transmission of the more aggressive delta variant.
Shah observed during the meeting that “some political friends” were issuing “irresponsible statements” against the closure of markets in Sindh.
“This results in misleading the public,” he continued, adding he was taking strict measures to save people of his province from the pandemic.
The chief minister constituted a ministerial committee to sensitize all stakeholders, including shopkeepers, traders, transporters and politicians to cooperate with the government “in the supreme interest of the public health,” said the statement.
He directed the Sindh police chief and Karachi commissioner to ensure timely closure of markets, tuition centers and private gyms which are still operating.
“He urged the residents of the province to stay home and avoid going out without valid reason,” the statement read.
Pakistan on Tuesday reported 3,262 new coronavirus cases and 39 fatalities in the last 24 hours.
Statistics 27 Jul 21:
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 49,412
Positive Cases: 3262
Positivity % : 6.6%
Deaths : 39— NCOC (@OfficialNcoc) July 27, 2021
Last week, the country crossed the grim milestone of one million COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began last year.
