• Asad warns of India-like situation
• Sindh closes schools, indoor dining, cinemas, recreational places
• NCOC launches portal to address public complaints

KARACHI / ISLAMABAD: As active coronavirus cases across the country surpassed 40,000, with positivity rate reaching as high as 17.11 per cent in Karachi, federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar warned that Pakistan could face a situation similar to that in India if ‘right decisions’ were not taken. Meanwhile, the Sindh government decided to close indoor dining, schools from class I to VIII, recreational places, including water parks, Sea View, Hawkesbay, Keenjhar Lake, swimming pools, cinemas and indoor gyms from Monday (July 19). However, the schools where examinations are in progress will function as per their routine.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah took the decisions while presiding over a meeting of the Provincial Task Force on Coronavirus on Wednesday and appealed to the people to follow the Covid-related guideline in letter and spirit.

The provincial health secretary earlier apprised the chief minister at the meeting that 365 cases of six variants of coronavirus had been detected in Sindh. The forms of the dreaded virus involving these cases include 95 of UK variant, 162 of South African, 66 Delta, 29 Brazilian and one wild type, up to July 12. As many as 143 patients died in less than two weeks in Sindh, it was pointed out. Of them, 98 (69 per cent) were on ventilators, 16 (11pc) were getting treatment at home, 29 (20pc) were hospitalised.

The chief minister was informed that on July 13 the overall detection rate across Sindh was 7.4pc, while it was 17.11pc in Karachi only. At this, the CM noted that the detection rate in Karachi was 11.98pc on July 7 and within a week it surged to 17.11pc. He observed that the situation was turning worse and would further worsen if necessary measures were not taken immediately.

About the peak of Covid-19 cases in Sindh in previous waves, the meeting was briefed that 3,038 cases were recorded in a day when the first wave was on its peak, the second wave’s maximum peak was 1,983 cases, while in the third wave reached its peak when 2,076 cases a day were detected. Currently, Sindh had detected 1,210 of the 1980 cases being reported from across the country.

CM Shah said that he would review the situation again on next Monday and might take more strict measures if standard operating procedures related to prevention of coronavirus were not followed. He also asked the health department to accelerate its vaccination drive.

About the vaccine supply, the chief minister was apprised that 5.87 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine had been received and 4,465,908 of them had already been utilised.

Meanwhile, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) launched a portal to receive and address complaints of people who could not be registered or could not get vaccination certificates despite being inoculated against the deadly virus. The NCOC tweeted that the portal was launched to address complaints related to vaccination record or certificate issues. “Now citizens can register complaints by visiting https://nims.nadra.gov.pk/nims/registerComplaint,” it stated.

Asad shares Indian photo on Twitter

Also, the minister for special initiatives, who heads the NCOC, shared on his Twitter account a photo claiming that hunger crisis forces even middle-class Indians to line up for rations and millions saw their economic toehold ripped away in lockdowns over the last 12 months. He suggested people to strictly adhere to SOPs. “This is the devastation Covid can cause if you don’t take the right decisions at the right time. It shows the crippling impact the severe Indian lockdown had, and continues to have, on the hundreds of millions of the most vulnerable,” the minister tweeted.

The NCOC also used Twitter insisting internet users to follow the SOPs. “Adherence to SOPs and timely vaccination are the only ways to protect yourself against Corona Virus! Wear Mask, adhere to Social Distancing and Get yourself Vaccinated! Remember that #VaccineAndSOPsSaveLives,” the NCOC tweeted.

According to NCOC data, 24 more deaths from coronavirus and 1,980 new cases were reported from across the country in a single day. The number of active cases, which were around 31,000 last month, reached 40,862.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2021