Minister orders screening in Matiari

Sindh governor visited Matiari on April 22

HYDERABAD: Sindh Revenue Minister Makhdoom Mehboob Zaman has written a letter to Hyderabad deputy commissioner (DC), expressing concern over Sindh Governor Imran Ismail testing positive for the coronavirus just days after his visited Matiari, from where Zaman is elected and which is also his native town.

He has instructed the commissioner to test all who had come into contact with the governor and others who were likely to have contracted the virus.

The governor visited Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Matiari and Tando Muhammad Khan districts on April 22. A day earlier he also visited Badin.



Keeping this in view, Jamshoro deputy commissioner Capt (retd) Faridud Din Mustafa, district health officer Dr Mushtaq Solangi and some other officials will be tested for the virus, the DC said on Wednesday. The governor had held a meeting with the officials during the first leg of his visit.

The provincial minister asked the district administration to prepare a list of people who interacted with the governor and put them in quarantine until their tests were conducted. Following this,  Matiari additional deputy commissioner submitted on Tuesday a list of 66 persons, who would be tested for the coronavirus, to the district health department.

The list also includes 10 local journalists, eight residents of Badin and six of Hyderabad, who were present in Matiari during Ismail’s visit.

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Sindh Governor Imran Ismail had confirmed in a post on his official Twitter handle that he was tested positive for Covid-19 and pledged to fight the highly contagious disease late Monday night.

“I believe this is nothing against what we are prepared for,” the governor wrote. “I just tested positive for Covid-19, and will fight it out. Imran Khan thought sic us to fight out the most difficult in life and I believe this is nothing against what we are prepared for. May Allah give us strength to fight this pandemic.” According to data released by the Sindh Health Department, just four Covid-19 cases were reported in Matiari as of April 27, which is way less than most districts in Sindh.

According to data released by the Sindh Health Department, just four Covid-19 cases were reported in Matiari as of April 27, which is way less than most districts in Sindh.

However, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has expressed worry over the virus now rearing its head in rural areas.

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During the video message issued on Tuesday, the CM stated that 258 more cases had emerged in Karachi. He further stated that 17 more cases had emerged in Hyderabad, ten in Jacobabad, seven in Sukkur, seven in Shikarpur, six in Shaheed Benazirabad, six in Tando Mohamamd Khan and five in Larkana.

The CM added that Covid-19 had also begun spreading in rural areas and  maintained that, “despite our Sindh government’s serious efforts people do not adopt social distancing and as result, they are not only getting the infection but are also infecting others.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2020.