Karachi, September 23, 2020 (PPI-OT): Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed the education department to ensure implementation of Standard Operational Procedure (SOPs) in all educational institutions so that children could be protected from epidemics. “The institutions, public or private, which violate the SOPs must be brought to book,” he said on Wednesday while presiding over a meeting to review the coronavirus situation in the province.
The meeting was attended by provincial ministers, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Saeed Ghani, Syed Nasir Shah, Advisor Law Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, PSCM Sajid Jamal Abro, Secretary Education Ahmed Bux Narejo, Secretary Health Kazim Jatoi, Dr Bari, Dr Faisal, Dr Sara of WHO and other concerned.
Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani told the chief minister that he visited most of the schools when they were reopened on September 15 but found most of them not following the SOPs, therefore, he decided to close them from grade VI to VIII and now they would reopen on September 28. He added that during this closure time, the schools would be able develop necessary mechanisms to implement the SOPs.
The chief minister expressed displeasure and directed the minister to issue necessary instructions to all the educational institutions, public and private, so to ensure implementation of the SOPs in the larger interest of the children. “Those who fail to implement SOPs, take strict action against them,” he said.
COVID situation: Secretary Health Kazim Jatoi briefing the chief minister said that there were 3,158 active cases in the province till Tuesday, of them 2092 were in Karachi division, 670 in Hyderabad, 81 in Mirpurkhas, 101 in Shaheed Benazirabad, 96 in Sukkur and 118 in Larkana.
It was disclosed that stemming from COVID-19, there were only eight cases in March, 109 in April, 385 May, 904 June, 817 in July, 186 in August and 62 in September. At this the chief minister said that the figure showed the epidemic was at its peak in June and then started declining, therefore we have to contain it further by proper implementation of SOPs. The meeting was told that the high areas include markets, shopping malls, tourist spots, hotels, processions and crowded gathering, shrines/urs, restaurants, polio and dengue health workers and office workers.
Current situation: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah sharing the current coronavirus situation report said that two more patients died overnight, lifting the death toll to 2,471 and 408 new cases in Sindh when record 18360 tests were conducted.
Shah said that two more patients lost their lives while struggling against coronavirus lifting the death toll to 2471 that constituted 1.8 percent death rate. The CM said that 18,360 samples were tested against which 408 cases emerged that constituted 2.2 percent current detection rate. He added that so far 1,274,684 tests have been conducted which diagnosed 134,845 cases, of them 95.6 percent or 128,964 patients recovered, including 154 overnight.
According to the chief minister, currently 3,410 patients are under treatment, of them 3120 are in home isolation, five at isolation centers and 285 in different hospitals. The condition of 146 patients is stated to be critical, including 17 shifted to ventilators.
Shah said that out of 408 new cases, 184 have been detected from Karachi division, including 62 from South, 37 East, 33 each in Central and Korangi, Malir 12 and seven West. He added that Badin has 31 cases, Larkana six, Ghotki four, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Mirpurkhas and Sanghar, Shikarpur, Sujawal, Umerkot two each and Dadu one.
For more information, contact:
Press Secretary,
Chief Minister House, Sindh
Tel: +92-21-99202019(Ext: 336)
Website: www.cmsindh.gov.pk