CM Murad defends decision to impose lockdown in Sindh

F.P. Report

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Monday defended the decision to impose a lockdown in the province to stem the spread of coronavirus.

“We took the extreme step after reviewing and observing what other countries were doing to curb the spread of the virus,” Shah said while addressing a press conference.

“This is not a provincial or state-level crisis, right now, the entire world is gripped by the crisis. We consulted with global experts to tackle the situation,” he added.

“We consulted with global experts to tackle the situation and decided on making quick decisions on making a quick decision about the lockdown,” he said. “Since we all are facing the situation for the first time, we all will learn with our mistakes.”

Shah continued, “When the first case emerged on February 26, we held a comprehensive meeting the very next day. The meeting was not attended by people from the government but also representatives from the private sector as well.”

“We gradually closed shopping centres, parks, cinemas etc. to avoid panic in the city. We all will make mistakes, but the biggest mistake of all would have been not taking measures at the moment,” he remarked.

The chief minister shared that he put Sindh’s concerns about the surge in cases during the first meeting of the National Coordination Committee in front of the federal government,

I had highly recommended a complete lockdown in the country,” Shah said.