KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has said that the Sindh government might have made mistakes but imposing the lockdown across the province was essential to curb the COVID-19 from spreading.
While addressing a media conference in Karachi, Murad Ali Shah said, “It is claimed that we imposed lockdown forcefully and without thinking, which is wrong,” he said. He added, “We have made mistakes but the lockdown was essential to curb the spread of virus in the province.”
The chief minister said that the Sindh government started working as soon as the first case was reported on 26th February. “We made step by step strategies, implemented them and formed a task force on 27th February,” he said.
Murad Ali Shah further said that the federal government did not listen to his advice of imposing lockdown earlier. The government is still confused about whether to lift restrictions or continue imposing them, he added.
He said, “Around 31 people have died from this disease so far in Sindh. 37 people are in quarantine and 317 are under treatment in various hospitals. Around 1002 people are isolated in their houses.”
He added that we have been urging people to maintain social distancing since day one. “If I impose a decision to which people do not respond, it is collective damage.”
Pakistan has reported 93 deaths from the novel coronavirus while the total number of cases has surged to 5,374. The number of 2,594 patients have tested positive for the virus in Punjab, 1,411 in Sindh, 744 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 224 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 230 in Balochistan, 131 in Islamabad and 40 in Azad Kashmir.
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