KARACHI: The Sindh government has officially asked the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) to block mobile SIMS and social media accounts of unvaccinated users.
According to a handout, the Sindh health department informed the NCOC national coordinator about the decision taken during the Provincial Corona Task Force meeting chaired Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
The task force has recommended the blocking of SIMS in a phased manner to stop the transmission of the coronavirus amid a recent surge in cases amid the fourth wave.
In the first phase, the government would issue a warning message that mobile SIMS would be blocked if they are not vaccinated. In the second phase, the health department has recommended a ban on social media accounts of unvaccinated people.
The outgoing calling services will be suspended in the third phase while the fourth phase will end up in complete blocking of mobile SIM until the person gets vaccinated.
The Sindh government requested the NCOC to instruct that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) should be directed to take necessary measures accordingly for a successful vaccination drive to break the transmission chain of COVID-19.
On Friday, the Sindh government decided to approach PTA to block SIMs of unvaccinated people amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the province. Sindh government spokesman Murtaza Wahab shared the decision on Twitter, announcing that the provincial government would approach the NCOC and PTA to block SIMs of unvaccinated people.
Chief Minister Sindh had also said that the PTA would be approached through the federal government to send messages to users to get vaccinated and those not getting a jab in a week will face blocking of their SIMs. The chief minister further directed the provincial authorities to communicate the Sindh government’s decision to the NCOC.
