-Extends business hours till 8pm
-Makes vaccination mandatory for traders
-Infections ratio in Hyderabad recorded at 11.06%, Karachi at 8.5%
-Dr. Yasmin says no commercial activity allowed in Punjab after 8pm
-COVID claims 77 lives, infects 1,629 more people across Country
Bureau Report
KARACHI: The Sindh government on Sunday allowed businesses to remain open till 8pm instead of 6pm, as had been vehemently demanded by them, but made vaccination mandatory for the staff of all shops and markets.
The decision was taken in a meeting of the provincial task force on Covid-19, which also decided to reopen educational institutions for classes nine and above from June 7 (today) with strict observance of standard operating procedures (SOPs).
The meeting chaired by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah decided that businesses would be allowed to function till 8pm from Monday (today) but the staff members of all shops would be required to get inoculated against Covid-19. “The vaccination certificates of shops’ staff will be checked after 15 days,” Shah was quoted as saying in a statement.
Earlier this week, all trade-related associations of Karachi had decided to defy the Sindh government’s restrictions regarding opening of markets and shops beyond 6pm and announced that they would open all their businesses till 8pm from Saturday. Sunday’s Covid task force meeting also decided that restaurants would be allowed to remain open for outdoor dining until midnight while ensuring social distancing between diners.
Marriage halls and outdoor weddings will be allowed after two weeks, while beauty salons will also be allowed to reopen with SOPs. The meeting also gave the green light to reopen Sea View and other beaches. The meeting was informed that the positivity rate in Karachi on June 5 was 8.5 per cent, while it was 12.45pc on June 1. The positivity in Hyderabad on June 5 was 11.06pc.
It was told that there were currently 79 patients on ventilators in Karachi and two in Shaheed Benazirabad. During the meeting, Chief Minister Shah gave the target to the provincial health department to vaccinate 18 million people within the next three months.
Earlier in the day, Shah announced that all teaching and non-teaching staff at educational institutions would have to be vaccinated if schools were to reopen. He said all shopkeepers would also have to get vaccinated and keep proofs of their vaccination at their shops.
Shah made these announcements at the inauguration ceremony of a Covid-19 vaccination facility at the Expo Centre in Karachi.
The announcements came in the wake of Sindh reporting 722 new coronavirus cases and 11 deaths. The total number of cases in the province now stands at 323,072 and the death toll has risen to 5,116. While COVID claimed 77 lives, infected 1,629 more people across Country in last 24 hours.
Earlier this week, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho had said schools in the province would remain closed until the government was certain that coronavirus cases were on the decline. “This is a numbers game. We have to proceed with caution until the numbers improve and don’t want to risk the lives of our children, their parents and relatives,” she maintained.
