KARACHI: The city administration on Friday decided to impose ‘smart lockdown’ in four districts and ‘micro lockdown’ in other two districts of Karachi in the wake of an alarming surge in the number of Covid-19 cases.

The decision was taken in a meeting presided over by Commissioner Iftikhar Ali Shallwani, who is also the administrator of Karachi. All deputy commissioners also attended the meeting.

As per the decision taken in the meeting, smart lockdown would be imposed in districts East, West, Central and South while districts Korangi and Malir would go under a ‘micro lockdown’.

The DCs briefed the commissioner about precautionary measures and standard operating procedures in their respective districts.

They said that a notification regarding restrictions in high-risk area would be issued at the earliest after consultation with health officials.

The commissioner said that Covid-19 was spreading quite rapidly and smart lockdown in most affected areas was the need of the hour.

He directed the DCs to take effective measures to ensure that SOPs and preventive measures were adopted in true letter and spirit.

929 new Covid cases emerge overnight in Karachi alone

“A campaign being run to ensure following of SOPs at marriage halls, restaurants and supermarkets should continue,” he added.

Meanwhile, the commissioner held a meeting with office-bearers of the Marriage Hall Association. The association’s president Rana Raees Ahmed assured that they would follow all the SOPs and only open-air marriage lawns would be opened as decided by the National Command Operation Centre (NCOC).

It was also decided in the meeting that buffet would not be allowed in the marriage halls.

19 die overnight in Sindh

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday said that 19 more patients died in the province overnight and 1,276 new cases emerged when 12,975 samples were tested.

In a statement issued here from CM House, he said that the death of 19 more patients lifted the death toll to 2,799 that constituted 1.8 per cent death rate.

Mr Shah said that 12,975 samples were tested, which diagnosed 1,276 cases that constituted 10pc current detection rate.

He added that so far 1,872,262 tests had been conducted against which 161,028 cases were detected, of them 90pc, or 145,143 patients, recovered, including 827 overnight.

The CM said that currently 13,086 patients were under treatment, including 12,537 in home isolation, nine at isolation centres and 544 at different hospitals.

He added that the condition of 446 patients was stated to be critical, including 48 shifted to ventilators.

The CM said that out of 1,276 new cases 929 had been detected in Karachi, of them 333 in South, 273 in East, 94 in Central, 92 in West, 75 in Korangi and 62 in Malir.

He said that Hyderabad had 130, Umerkot 36, Jacobabad 24, Ghotki 18, Sukkur and Tando Allahyar 17 each, Qambar 15, Larkana and Shikarpur 12 each, Dadu six, Jamshoro and Sanghar two each and Khairpur and Badin one each.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2020