Sindh mulls options as provincial tally soars past 1,000

CM Shah stresses devising post-lockdown guidelines while Chinese experts call for observing strict social distancing

KARACHI: As Sindh reported 50 more COVID-19 cases - swelling the province's tally to 1,036 - and another two pandemic-related deaths on Wednesday, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah called for devising an effective strategy and post-lockdown guidelines to deal with the crisis.

In a video address, the CM shared that 50 more cases had emerged across the province and two patients had lost their lives to COVID-19, pushing the death toll in Sindh to 20, on Wednesday. Communicating further details, he said that 785 people were tested for the coronavirus on the day and among them 50 had tested positive.

"The disease's tally has now peaked to 1,036 against 896 as of April 7," he said. Of these patients, 382 were isolated at their homes, 97 were housed in isolation centres and 257 were under treatment at different hospitals, he added. From the total reported cases so far in Sindh, 637 are that of local transmission, according to the CM.

Roughly outlining the rise in the number of cases since the onset of the pandemic in Pakistan, the CM said the country's first coronavirus case was reported on February 26 and over a period of just 30 days, on March 25, the count had reached 1,000. It doubled over a week, hitting 2,000 on April 1, rose to 3,000 on April 6, and soared to 4,000 within a day, on April 7.

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He sounded the alarm over this trend of a steep rise and emphasised the need to devise a strategy based on the "ground reality" to effectively deal with the pandemic.

The CM urged citizens to strictly observe social distancing, saying that just a few days were left for the lockdown end, and implying that abiding by lockdown orders during this period was crucial for containing the spread of the virus.

Contemplating solutions

Later, a nine-member delegation of Chinese health experts, led by Ma Minghui, apprised the CM of their experience of containing what they termed the "eliminated coronavirus."

The delegation stressed the need for ensuring social distancing and warned that the contagion could not be controlled otherwise. The members also called for observing strict lockdown to control the pandemic and the emerging crisis. They further underlined the need to ensure that no crowding took place during ration distribution as "crowds of any kind will destroy any efforts made to contain the virus."

At this, the CM informed them that the government had ordered the closure of government offices, schools, business centres and most factories, in addition to issuing directives for the suspension of public transport.

"This is how we have managed to curb the spread [to an extent] so far," he said, adding, however, that measures needed to be stepped up to "save our people."

Referring to hurdles in the way of containing the virus, he said that due to the lack of testing kits and equipment, only a selected number of people could be tested for the infection.

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"We are mostly testing those who have travel history and whose family members have tested positive for the coronavirus," he explained.

At this, the delegation assured the CM that they would assist the government through the provision of expertise and required equipment.

The CM also mulled over ways to deal with the crisis during another meeting called by Prime Minister Imran Khan, which he joined via a video link.

He suggested that people arriving from outside the country be quarantined at hotels near airports, assuring that the Sindh government would provide all possible support to the Centre in this regard. He further called for the federal government to devise the standard operating procedures for the post-lockdown period.