‘Lockdown’ extended by two weeks in Sindh

Infectious diseases hospital to start accepting patients from Friday

KARACHI:

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, the Sindh Home Department issued on Wednesday an official notification extending the ongoing lockdown imposed by the provincial government until July 15.

As many as 2,139 new coronavirus cases were reported with a worrying 28 per cent positivity ratio on the day, pushing Sindh's tally to over 86,000 cases. Meanwhile, 29 more patients succumbed to the deadly disease, bringing the provincial death toll to 1,406.

Reiterating that the threat of the virus had increased rather than subsiding, the government notification stated that Covid-19 hotspots may see all activity restricted on the orders of the Sindh government or district administration, if deemed necessary.

Apart from that, all educational and training institutes, marriage halls, business centres and beauty salons are to remain closed and all social, religious and public gatherings banned until the extended date. Moreover, the restrictions on cinema halls, amusement parks, picnic spots, sports clubs, gyms and interprovincial public transport are also to remain in place.

Working hours for shops and trade centres, excepting pharmacies and essential goods providers, are to remain 6am to 7pm from Monday to Friday, while eateries may offer takeaway services from 6am to 7pm and home delivery till 11pm throughout the week.

The notification also urges people to practice precautionary measures, such as using hand sanitisers and face masks and maintaining social distancing, and implement standard operating procedures to prevent the spread of the virus.

Infectious diseases hospital

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah announced on Wednesday that the infectious diseases hospital set up for treating Covid-19 patients at University Road would become functional tomorrow (Friday) onwards.

Visiting the 50-bed hospital, which has a six-bed intensive care unit and a high dependency unit, he directed the health department to post well-trained staff at the hospital. "This will be of great help for Covid-19 patients, even if they need oxygen support or ventilators," he said, adding that the radiology facilities would also help save the lives of seriously ill patients by diagnosing chest complications.

The CM further said that a 200-bed hospital for coronavirus patients would be made functional at NIPA in the next few weeks.

In a video statement, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho added that the new infectious diseases hospital was equipped with ventilators, high-flow oxygen and a pharmacy and radiology units for carrying out ultrasound and x-rays, in addition to a semi-private ward.

The facility was disinfected on Wednesday, was to remain close for a day and would be made functional from Friday, the health minister explained.

She added that following the beginning of operations at the NIPA facility, the area's residents would have access to three coronavirus treatment facilities, including the one established at Dow University of Health Sciences' Ojha campus.

Virus tally

The CM also raised concern over the high positive testing rate for the virus, pointing out that 28 per cent of the 8,201 samples tested for Covid-19 in the last day had been positive - one of the highest rates so far and much higher than the overall detection rate of 19 per cent in Sindh.

On a positive note, however, he said that 1,703 more coronavirus patients had regained health, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 48,527, around 56 per cent of those infected in total.

Furthermore, he disclosed that out of 36,803 patients under treatment, 35,131 were in home isolation, 158 were in isolation centres and 1,514 admitted to different hospitals. He added that 707 patients were in critical condition, with 104 on ventilators.

According to the CM, 1,038 of the new cases were from Karachi, while Hyderabad had 129 new cases, Sukkur 86, Shikarpur 70, Sanghar 66, Larkana 58, Shaheed Benazirabad 50, Mirpurkhas 36, Ghotki 31, Badin 29, Dadu 24, Jacobabad 24, Jamshoro 12, Naushero Feroze 10, Khairpur nine, Matiari eight, Sujawal five, Kashmore three, and Tando Allahyar, Tando Mohammad Khan and Thatta one each.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2020