KARACHI: Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah on Friday asserted that the decision to impose a Covid-19 lockdown will be taken in line with the National Command and Operation Centre’s (NCOC) recommendations.
The chief minister’s statement came as Karachi’s coronavirus positivity ratio reached 28.80% in the last 24 hours, according to the data released by NCOC on Friday morning.
Speaking to journalists in Karachi, CM Murad admitted that coronavirus cases were spreading at a rapid pace. However, he said, the situation was under control as hospitalisations and patients in intensive care units (ICU) were less.
The chief minister highlighted that Karachi reported its highest number of COVID-19 cases a day earlier, but insisted that the pressure on hospitals is not increasing. “Whatever strategy we adopt, it will be in consultation with NCOC,” he reiterated.
Murad Ali Shah added that the provincial government was monitoring the coronavirus situation, as he noted that infections were not only rising in Sindh, but across the rest of Pakistan too.
Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Administrator Murtaza Wahab had earlier this week hinted at resorting to strict measures in order to limit coronavirus cases increasing with every passing day in Karachi.
Amid rising coronavirus cases in the country after the emergence of the Omicron variant, a meeting of education ministers’ was called yesterday (Thursday) to decide the fate of schools, but was later postponed to next week.
Sindh registered 2,321 new cases and two deaths in the last 24 hours, according to official figures, bumping overall infections to 494,064 and death toll to 7,693.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s coronavirus positivity ratio jumped over 7% as the country reported 3,567 new cases — the highest since September 10, 2021 — in the last 24 hours, NCOC’s data showed today morning.
