COVID-19 situation in Karachi spinning out of control

• COVID-19 positivity rate jumps to 20% in Karachi with 1,314 new cases.
• As number of COVID-19 cases continue to sharply rise in Sindh, provincial government starts imposing restrictions on public gatherings.
• Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah urges public to follow COVID-19 standard operating procedures.

KARACHI: The coronavirus situation in Karachi is gradually spinning out of control, with the city recording a 20.34% positivity rate in the latest stats shared by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

The Sindh CM's stats showed that 1,314 people tested positive for the infectious disease on Friday, with 867 patients hospitalised at various health facilities, of whom 562 were on high flow oxygen and 177 on low flow oxygen, The News reported.

The city lost 25 more people to the virus, raising the death toll to 5,697 in the province. In the meantime, 931 patients are under treatment at different hospitals in Sindh. Of them, 857 patients are said to be in critical condition and 52 of them are on life support.

Read about the Sindh government's new COVID-19 restrictions as cases spike

Sindh reported a total of 1,631 new coronavirus cases, including the 1,314 cases from Karachi.

The CM said the fatality rate of the disease remained at 1.6% in Sindh. He said the diagnosis of 1,631 cases against 18,075 samples constituted a 9% current detection rate. 

Of the 1,314 new cases detected in Karachi, 356 belonged to District East, 287 to District Central, 251 to District Korangi, 190 to District South, 122 to District Malir and 108 to District West.

In the rest of Sindh, Hyderabad had 52 new cases, Naushero Feroze 26, Dadu 22, Thatta 21, Tando Allahyar 16, Jamshoro 15, Shaheed Benazirabad and Badin 14 each, Mirpurkhas, Sujawal and Tharparkar 10 each, Umerkot eight, Matiari seven, Tando Muhammad Khan four, Kashmore and Sanghar two each, and Ghotki, Khairpur and Larkana had one new case each.

The Sindh CM has urged the public to follow COVID-19 standard operating procedures issued by the government to help contain the spread of the contagious disease.

Coronavirus: 65 cases of Delta variant detected in Karachi

Sindh closes schools, indoor dining again as cases spike

The Sindh government decided to close schools, impose a ban on indoor dining again and place several other restrictions across the province as COVID-19 cases continue to increase amid fears of a fourth wave.

The steps were taken Wednesday during the meeting of the Provincial Coronavirus Taskforce headed by the Sindh CM.

Schools closed from Friday for students of all classes, except for the exams of students enrolled in class 9 and above. Once exams are finished, schools will also close for students of class 9 and above.

During the meeting, the chief minister expressed concern over the worsening situation of COVID-19 in Sindh, where the positivity ratio has increased sharply during the past few days.

Indoor dining at restaurants, amusement parks, water parks, tourists spots, cinemas, gyms and indoor games have also been closed.

The development comes amid a warning from health authorities of a fourth wave due to the non-implementation of safety protocols.

Sindh had lifted the restrictions in phases during the past couple of months after new cases dropped.