Sindh bans public gatherings as provincial COVID-19 tally rises to 17

Classes at educational institutes and madrassas, Urs celebrations suspended, shrines, marriage halls, cinemas closed

KARACHI: As the country finds itself gripped by coronavirus fears, with the tally of COVID-19 patients rising by the day, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has ordered the suspension of all public gatherings, classes at educational institutes and madrassas and Urs celebrations, as well issuing directives for the closure of shrines, marriage halls, cinemas, gyms and swimming pools.

The decision was made as two more cases emerged in Sindh on Saturday, bringing the number of cases diagnosed in the province to 17. As of now, the orders will be enforced until April 5.

Presiding over a coronavirus taskforce meeting at the CM House, Shah sounded an alarm over coronavirus being declared a pandemic, stating that his government was left with little choice but to take drastic measures to control the situation and save people's lives.

"It is high time that we close cinemas, marriage halls and shrines, besides suspending Urs celebrations and [grand] wedding functions," he said, adding that people may still hold wedding functions on a limited scale at their homes.

Directing the Sindh chief secretary to issue a notification for implementing orders pertaining to the restriction on large-scale public gatherings, the CM expressed the hope that people would cooperate in curbing the spread of the virus.

He said that the orders would be reversed once the situation improved.



Two more cases
Briefing the CM on COVID-19 cases in Sindh, provincial health secretary Zahid Abbasi said that two more cases had been reported in Karachi by Saturday afternoon. Of the two cases, one was found to have a travel history to Saudi Arabia and the other is suspected to have contracted the virus from his father, who recently returned from Europe, he informed the meeting.

He said that said that samples were also taken from the second patient's father for testing.

The secretary further told the meeting that so far, 17 coronavirus cases were reported in Sindh, of which just two were locally transmitted, including one reported on Saturday.

Expressing alarm at the emergence of locally transmitted cases, the CM termed the situation "dangerous."

The CM was further told that of the 283 tests conducted so far, 267 were cleared of the infection while 17 had tested positive. Meanwhile, the results for 25 samples are awaited.

Sharing details about the travellers, the secretary informed the meeting that 31 were quarantined at present and of them, the quarantine period for 11 would end on March 18, two on March 16, five on March 17 and 12 on March 12.

He said that 3,300 passengers had landed at Jinnah International Airport by late Friday evening and all of them were quarantined, while their samples were collected and sent for testing.

Financial support

Later, the CM informed the meeting that the World Bank (WB) had agreed to allocate $10 million for the Sindh Resilience Project for Coronavirus Support Programme launched by the Sindh government.

He directed the provincial chief secretary to use these funds to purchase necessary equipment including ventilators, oxygen cylinders and beds, adding that the WB had released another $25 million to contain the virus spread in Sindh.





The CM said that all-out efforts were being made to channel necessary funds to hospitals, as well as set up isolation centres and quarantine facilities in all districts of Sindh, despite financial constraints.Prevention and control measures

Attending another meeting of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), the CM instructed PDMA officials to prepare a taluka-wise list of all families in Sindh so that they may be facilitated in a case of an emergency or lockdown.

He also directed the relevant authorities to establish 35 fully-equipped field hospitals and ordered PDMA to make arrangements to supply food, water and other necessary items to quarantine centres.

As per the CM's directives, a quarantine centre is to be set up at every newly-constructed hospital building that is not yet operational in all districts, in addition to recently constructed apartments for labourers in Kotri, Nooriabad, Hyderabad and Shaheed Benazirabad being used as isolation centres.

Later in the day, the CM visited a quarantine facility in the outskirts of Karachi and inspected the arrangements made for housing and treating COVID-19 patients.

He also joined a meeting called by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza via video link and informed him of the arrangements.

The CM apprised Mirza of the financial assistance pledged by WB, adding, however, that more assistance would be required to provide PDMA with the necessary equipment. He further told the Balochistan CM that 293 pilgrims from Taftan had reached Sukkur.

Preventing an outbreak

With the government's three-week ban on all public gatherings in efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Sindh's famed shrines, including those of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan and Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai in Bhit Shah, have been closed to visitors.

Scheduled events at other religious venues have also been cancelled.
Pir Pagara Sibghatullah Shah, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, who also heads the spiritual Hurr Jamaat, cancelled a spiritual gathering that was to be held at Pir Jo Goth, Khairpur, on March 22. Hundreds of thousands of people gather at the annual event, which takes place on Rajab 27.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Ulema Mashaikh Council, led by Syed Waqar Hussain Shah Latifi, who is also the custodian of Bhitai's shrine, announced the suspension of all activities involving public gatherings for the next four weeks.

However, Sindh's ruling party held a political gathering in Tharparkar district, while another large gathering by Jamaat-e-Islami is scheduled to be held in Matiari district on Sunday.

Pakistan Peoples Party's Sindh president Nisar Khuhro chaired a crowded meeting in Mithi, Tharparkar, to discuss preparations for the April 4 commemorations of former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's death in Larkana.

Meanwhile, Sindh Information and Religious Affairs Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah held a meeting with ulema (religious scholars) in Karachi, as per the Sindh chief minister's directives.

He took them into confidence regarding restrictions on public gatherings in the province and asked them to support the decision. The clerics lauded the provincial government's efforts to deal with coronavirus and assured him of their support.

With additional reporting from Z Ali

Read The Express Tribune‘s live coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak in Pakistan and the around the globe here.