KARACHI –Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said Friday that the decision to impose a lockdown and close educational institutions will be taken in line with the National Command and Operation Centre’s (NCOC) recommendations.
He expressed these views while talking to journalists in Karachi. He said coronavirus cases were spreading at a rapid pace, but the situation was under control as hospitalisations and patients in intensive care units (ICU) in the port city were less.
The chief minister’s statement comes as Karachi’s coronavirus positivity ratio reached 28.80% in the last 24 hours, according to NCOC’s data released this morning.
Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Administrator Murtaza Wahab had earlier this week hinted at resorting to strict measures in order to limit coronavirus cases increasing with every passing day in Karachi.
Amid rising coronavirus cases in the country after the emergence of the Omicron variant, a meeting of education ministers’ was called yesterday (Thursday) to decide the fate of schools, but was later postponed to next week.
Sindh registered 2,321 new cases and two deaths in the last 24 hours, according to official figures, bumping overall infections to 494,064 and death toll to 7,693.
Pakistan’s infection rate on the rise
Pakistan’s coronavirus positivity ratio reached 7.36% as the country reported 3,567 new cases — the highest since September 10, 2021 — in the last 24 hours.
The NCOC said 48,449 tests were conducted across the country, and 3,567 infections emerged, taking the positivity ratio to 7.36%. The country last reported an infection rate of 6.64% on August 31, 2021.
