CM says Sindh may close inter-provincial transport if NCOC fails to close it

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that the government of Sindh would have to take action by itself if the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) fails to pay heed to its suggestion to close inter-provincial transport to curb rising Covid-19 cases.
Addressing an event at Sindh Institute of Animal Health on Thursday, Syed Murad Ali Shah questioned the federal government’s decision to impose a coronavirus lockdown earlier when it was the one that criticised the move when Sindh went ahead with the plan.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan has his own thoughts on lockdowns but in today’s meeting of the NCOC, I reminded him of the Sindh government’s initiative on coronavirus lockdown one year ago on which we were strongly criticised. But if it was that bad an idea, why did the federal government and other three provinces follow it later? It wasn’t bad because we are safe today – firstly, due to God’s mercy – and those were the initial steps. The decisions we made in the beginning helped us stay safe from the coronavirus pandemic,” said the chief minister.
The Sindh chief minister underlined that the PPP-led provincial government had recommended shutting down intercity transport for at least two weeks – which, according to him, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar said the NCOC would consider.
Speaking of the coronavirus vaccination campaign, Shah said it should be accelerated and that people of all ages must be registered. “My second advice was that we’re registering people for vaccination but in the region – no, in the entire world – our country is the lowest in terms of vaccination,” he added.
The chief minister recommended the government to register everyone so that the demand could be gauged. “Even if someone is 20 years old, they too should be registered for the vaccine,” he underlined.
On the other hand, Shah said 237 new cases were reported in Sindh out of the 8,913 tests carried out over the past 24 hours. Of the new infections, 119 were from Karachi, he added. He noted that while two patients died in the same time period, 108 recovered. Currently, 253 of the 5,028 patients undergoing treatment were in critical condition, he added. – TLTP