Sindh urges Centre to ban inter-provincial transport for 2 weeks

• CM Sindh clarifies he is not in favour of a lockdown.
• COVID-19 positivity ratio recorded in Karachi at 4.63%.
• CM Sindh wants ban on inter-provincial transport so that the spread of the virus via travelling of people to and from Sindh can be prevented.
  

KARACHI: The Sindh taskforce on coronavirus will approach the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) to ban inter-provincial transport for two weeks.

A meeting, attended by senior provincial ministers at the Chief Minister House on Friday, was held under the chief minister's chair. 

The meeting was told that from March 26 to April 1, 2021 a positivity ratio of 4.63% has been recorded in Karachi, whereas it was found to be 5% in Hyderabad and 1.5 % in other areas of Sindh. 

A World Health Organisation (WHO) representative informed participants of the meeting that the UK strain of the coronavirus is growing at an alarming rate. 

"The provincial task force decided to approach the federal government to impose a ban on inter-provincial transport so that travelling of people to and from Sindh could be stopped to contain the virus," read a statement from the task force. 

I am not in favour of a lockdown: Sindh CM

The chief minister clarified he was not in favour of a lockdown but instead, wanted to ban inter-provincial transport so that people could not move from one province to the other. 

“This is the only way to contain the UK origin virus,” he said, adding that “the activity at the seaport and transport of goods would operate as usual”.

The meeting decided to collect the data of the people who have come from the UK to Karachi during the last few months for necessary tests and vaccinations. The home department was assigned the task to collect data from airports.

The meeting also recommended the provincial government shut down schools for the next 15 days. For this, the chief minister directed Minister for Education Saeed Ghani to discuss the matter with all the stakeholders, including private schools management before taking a final decision. 

“I am leaving it up to the education minister to decide in which areas/districts/cities schools should be closed,” he said.

The taskforce also urged the government to allow and facilitate private hospitals to procure COVID-19 vaccines so pressure on the public sector hospitals can be reduced.

Coronavirus: Intercity transport in Sindh to operate at 50% capacity

Earlier today, the provincial government had banned intercity transport across Sindh in light of the surge in coronavirus cases. 

Passenger vehicles operating from one city to another in Sindh will operate at only 50% of its capacity, said a notification from the Transport and Mass Transit Department had said.

The decision, announced by the Sindh government, is in force with immediate effect and is binding on all passenger vehicles being used for intercity transport in the province.

"The coronavirus SOPs issued by the Sindh government will be strictly adhered to," said Transport Secretary Shariq Ahmad.

The provincial government further said all coronavirus SOPs will be strictly enforced and those who violate them will be punished.