KARACHI: Following a surge in coronavirus infections of the Delta variant across the country, the Sindh government Wednesday decided to reimpose coronavirus restrictions, suspending indoor dining and closing down schools.
Classes for grades 9 and above will be suspended from Friday but assessments would continue, a meeting of the provincial task force on coronavirus presided over by Murad Ali Shah announced, the Chief Minister House announced on Twitter.
* انڈور ڈائننگ کو کل رات سے بند کرنے کا فیصلہ
* اسکول کلاس اول سے اٹھویں جمعہ سے بند کرنے کا فیصلہ
* نویں کلاس اور اس سے زائد تعلیمی ادارے سوائے امتحانات کے بند ہوجائینگے
— CMHouseSindh (@SindhCMHouse) July 14, 2021
The ban on indoor dining will come into effect from midnight on Thursday.
Amusement and water parks, Clifton and Hawke’s Bay beaches, and Keenjhar Lake will be closed from Friday while cinemas, indoor gyms and indoor sports activities will close doors from tomorrow (Thursday).
Concerns of a fourth wave of coronavirus have grown amid the emergence of the Delta variant, a strain of the virus first identified in India.
The mutation has been found in more than 80 countries since it was first detected. Experts say it spreads more easily because of mutations that make it better at latching onto cells in our bodies.
Karachi has registered more than 40 cases of the variant during the current month alone. Whereas, 24 cases of the mutation were reported last month, according to the health department data.
Today, the meeting was informed that the positivity rate was 17.11 percent in Karachi until July 13. According to the weekly report, the positivity rate in Karachi East was 21 percent, 15 percent in Karachi South, 12 percent in Karachi Central and 8 percent in Korangi.
The participants were further informed that the provincial positivity rate had increased to 7.4 percent. Shah observed that the positivity rate going beyond 5 percent was a “dangerous situation” and deemed that the situation in Karachi was “very bad”.
This spread comes despite the positivity ratio, which shot up to 9 percent in May, recently hovering between 2 percent and 4 percent.
Viruses constantly mutate and most changes are not concerning. But there is a worry that some variants might evolve enough to be more contagious, cause more severe illness or evade the protection that vaccines provide.
In the United Kingdom, the variant is now responsible for 90 percent of all new infections. In the US, it represents 20 percent of infections, and health officials say it could become the country’s dominant type as well.
Last week, Prime Minister Imran Khan also called the variant “the biggest concern,” and urged the public to follow safety precautions.
“After a downslide, infections are on the rise again. We fear that the Delta variant could strike Pakistan,” he said in a televised address. “I appeal to the nation to wear masks and take protective measures.”
Earlier, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, who heads the NCOC, said he had reviewed artificial intelligence models and that in the absence of strong enforcement of health guidelines such as wearing masks and maintaining social distancing, a “fourth wave could emerge in Pakistan in July.”
