KARACHI: Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah on Saturday said that the Provincial Task Force on COVID-19 has decided to resume educational and business activities all over the province from September 15, if the COVID-19 pandemic situation remains under control.
According to a press statement, the decision was taken by the National Coordination Committee; however, the provincial government decided to review the situation in the first week of next month to implement the decision.
The meeting was held with Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah in the chair, while provincial ministers, Dr Azra Pechuho, Saeed Ghani, Mukesh Chawla, Nasir Shah, and Murtaza Wahab along with Mayor Karachi Waseem Akhtar, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, IG Sindh Mushtaq Maher, Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Shahalwani, and Secretary Health Kazim Jatoi were also present.
On this occasion, the chief minister said that just after the Council of Common Interests meeting, the prime minister had chaired an NCC meeting in Islamabad on August 6. He said that the meeting decided all business activities, including education institutions and others must be reopened from September 15.
However, it was decided that the provincial governments would review the situation in their task force meetings to take final decisions. The chief minister said that during the last 30 days COVID-19 cases have dropped down.
On Saturday, around 1,782 new cases were reported and on every successive day the number went down, and finally, on August 7, 2020, 487 new cases were reported, CM Murad added.
He said, “This doesn’t mean that COVID-19 has been eradicated or contained but it teaches us that the virus still exists and we have to learn how to live with it until its vaccine is developed.”
The chief minister decided that the COVID-19 hospitals established at NIPA and University Road would continue to function and would be strengthened. He also instructed the Sindh health minister to review the requirements of the Field Isolation Centre at the Expo Centre.
He also sought the opinion of leading doctors in the meeting about the resumption of social, educational, and business activities.
He said, “Sindh government is bound to abide by the policy formulated by the federal government on the issue of COVID-19 but the provincial government is fully aware of the plight of all business community including marriage hall and school owners”.
In the meeting, Minister Health Dr Azra Pechuho said that the COVID-19 situation has improved and the number of new cases has started declining across the province.
She said that the situation is improving during the pandemic as the SOPs are being followed and the government will ensure that the implementation remains on track.
The capacity of holding COVID-19 tests has reduced by 50% in Sindh as staffers responsible for conducting these tests in hospitals, laboratories and medical centres have drastically reduced after being infected from the COVID-19, she added.
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