Sindh's shrines closed to public again as coronavirus cases rise

By
Web Desk
 A woman clad in burqa walks in the hallway of the tomb of Sufi saint Syed Usman Marwandi, also known as Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, in Sehwan Sharif, in Pakistan's southern Sindh province. — Reuters/Files

  • Sindh imposes curbs to stop virus' spread.
  • Shrines to remain closed from March 28 to April 6.
  • Sindh recorded 252 new cases in the last 24 hours.


The Sindh government on Saturday notified the closure of shrines across the province in a bid to curtail the spread of coronavirus as infections witness a steady rise.

The decision came during a meeting with provincial Minister for Auqaf Sohail Anwar Sial in the chair.

Auqaf Chief Administrator Sindh, in a notification, said all shrines and dargahs would remain closed for 10 days — from March 28 to April 6.

Four days ago, the Auqaf Department had notified the reopening of all the shrines in the province, however, with an increase in coronavirus cases, the government has decided to shut them down.

In the last 24 hours, Sindh has recorded 252 new coronavirus cases and four deaths, bumping the total infections to 264,606 and moving the death toll up to 4,491.

The province recorded 293 cases on March 26, 247 on March 25, 151 on March 24, 200 on March 23, and 174 coronavirus infections on March 22, according to the government's official figures.