KARACHI: A senior Sindh administration official on Tuesday defended the provincial government’s decision to extend a ban on indoor dining in the southern cities of Karachi and Hyderabad, saying the rules could be relaxed only once people started taking necessary precautions against COVID-19.
The number of new coronavirus cases in the province declined from 2,734 on August 4 to 1,042 on August 30 but the death rate still remains high, with 71 deaths on August 24.
The virus claimed 41 lives across the province on Monday when the Sindh administration announced new lockdown rules for September 1 to 15.
“How can we give relaxations when no one is willing to follow the SOPs [standard operating procedures],” Qasim Soomro, a parliamentary secretary for health in the province, told Arab News, referring to officially prescribed guidelines such as social distancing and wearing of face masks in public places.
He added that Sindh was using all available resources to defeat the virus and move toward normalcy.
According to the new regulations for the first fifteen days of September, outdoor dining will be allowed in the province under strict protocols until 10pm. 
“Business timings, market and business activities in Karachi division and district Hyderabad may continue till 8pm,” a provincial administration notification said, adding that commercial activities could continue in other cities of Sindh until 10pm.
The new rules also extended a ban on indoor weddings and related ceremonies whereas outdoor weddings were allowed until 10pm for a maximum of 300 guests.
According to the notification, shrines and cinemas would remain closed while a complete ban on contact sports, such as boxing, water polo and wrestling, would be extended.
Sindh has also announced that it will vaccinate 1.4 million students from grade nine to 12 from September 6. According to a handout issued by the provincial health department, the inoculation drive will be carried out by 2,527 teams.
Medical professionals are skeptical of the government’s plans.
“The government has announced to launch a vaccination campaign in schools, but how will it do that when people are sent back from vaccine centers due to the unavailability of the second dose of several coronavirus shots,” Dr. Qaisar Sajjad, general secretary of the Pakistan Medical Association, said.
Asked about non-compliance with COVID-19 rules, he said the government itself was allowing political rallies in the province while trying to implement strict measures at shopping malls and other places.
Sindh has vaccinated 32.70 percent of its adult population, and inoculated 242,912 people in the last 24 hours.
While 43.73 percent of Karachi’s eligible population has received COVID-19 jabs, there is a huge disparity among its various districts. According to official statistics, 86.24 percent people have been vaccinated in district south, though there are areas like Keemari where only 18.51 percent of the population has received coronavirus shots.
“Besides the overall disparity, the vaccination process has also been mismanaged,” Sajjad said. 
Soomro however said the provincial administration had meticulously planned the vaccination drive for schools.
“Vaccination is an important step toward normalization of life and complete opening of educational institutions,” he added.