‘Pandemic may hit new highs if SOPs ignored’

If standard operating procedures (SOPs) are not properly implemented, the coronavirus pandemic could reach new highs in the country, warned Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah on Monday.

Addressing a meeting of the National Coordination Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, the CM opined that the recent rise in coronavirus cases in Pakistan was likely a result of the reopening of businesses and educational institutions, adding that Eid, Ashura and Chehlum also played a role in the spike.

Widespread violations

Stressing the importance of SOPs in curbing the spread of Covid-19, the CM stated that 341 marriage halls had been inspected in Karachi, of which 123 were sealed for not following the guidelines issued by the authorities in this regard.

Shah added that 1,045 restaurants were also evaluated for the SOPs and 577 were issued warnings for failing to comply, while 30 were penalised and 224 were sealed for the offence.

He further claimed that of 75 educational institutions that were inspected, 31 were found to be violators and four of them were sealed by the authorities.

Moreover, relevant authorities visited 173 shops and factories to assess the implementation of SOPs. Of these, 114 turned out to be negligent, 13 were fined and 29 were sealed, he revealed.

Fresh cases

According to the CM, 240 fresh coronavirus cases were reported in Sindh overnight, which took the provincial tally of infections to 140,534. He added that one more patient had died due to the virus, pushing the death toll to 2,556.

He further stated that 4,786 people were currently infected with the virus, of whom 4,466 were in home isolation, 314 admitted at different hospitals and six quarantined in isolation centres. The majority of these cases - 2,742 - are in Karachi, with Hyderabad coming in next with 462 active infections.

The condition of 190 patients was said to be critical and 24 of them had already been shifted on ventilators.

On the other hand, he stated, 259 more patients regained health overnight, taking the number of recoveries to 133,192 in Sindh.

Of the newly-reported Covid-19 cases, 168 were diagnosed in Karachi alone, which, according to the CM, has had a positive detection rate of 4.3 per cent over the last five days.

The CM claimed that Sindh had conducted over 1.46 million tests to date, the highest number among the provinces, while the province's testing capacity had been enhanced to 20,000 per day. However, 10,241 tests had been carried out in the past day.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2020.