Sindh decides to continue educational, business activities under SOPs

KARACHI: During a meeting with various officials, Syed Murad Ali Shah decided to continue all activities under standard operating procedures (SOPs).  

Syed Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister of Sindh, presiding over a meeting of Provincial Taskforce on COVID-19, reviewed overall COVID-19 and other variant situations and decided that all the activities, including educational, social, and business, would continue to operate but under strict SOPs. 

The meeting was attended by Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Syed Nasir Shah, Syed Sardar Shah, representatives of Corps -5, Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, WHO, Vice-Chancellor, Dow University, Dr Faisal Mahmood and other concerned officers.  

The meeting was told that the COVID-19 infection rate had been increased in Karachi at 35.3 per cent, 5.12 per cent in Hyderabad and 2.4 per cent in the rest of the province, but the situation was under control.

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The Sindh Health Department told the meeting that there was no pressure on the health facilities. The COVID-19 patients were recovering fast, and the death rate was meagre at 1.6 per cent.

After thorough discussion and deliberations, the meeting decided to intensify vaccination drives all over the province. “We have to vaccinate our people so that they develop an immune system against the infection,” Murad Ali Shah said.

The meeting decided to make wearing a mask mandatory. The unvaccinated customers or guests would not be allowed in hotels, major markets and the marriage halls. The administration was directed to keep checking vaccination certificates and encourage people to wear masks and maintain social distance.  

The task force advised the government to make the wearing of masks mandatory in all the public and private offices and at public places. The participants of the meeting recommended the government deduct the one-day salary of the officials who did not wear masks in their offices. 

The meeting participants recommended the government to serve food in marriage halls in lunch boxes, for which the commissioners were directed to coordinate with the marriage hall administrations.

The meeting decided that all the educational institutions, including primary and primary schools, would function as usual but under strict SOPs. 

The Chief Minister of Sindh directed the officials of the Sindh Health Department to conduct an audit of all the public and private hospitals to assess their facilities in terms of beds, doctors, medicines, COVID-19 preparation plan so that crucial measures could be taken.

Murad Ali Shah expressed that he would review the COVID-19 situation again within the next few days to take critical decisions accordingly.