F.P. Report
KARACHI: Provincial Task Force on Corona (PTFC) has decided to open primary schools from June 21 across the Sindh while shrines, amusement parks, gyms and swimming pools would be opened for public from June 28.
The vaccination centers, due to shortage of doses, would be closed only on Sunday June 20. The task force met here at CM House on Saturday with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in chair.
The meeting was attended by provincial ministers, Dr Azra Fazal, Saeed Ghani, Nasir Shah, Advisor Murtaza Wahab, Parliamentary Secretary Qasim Siraj Soomro, Chief Secretary, IG Police, ACS Home, PSCM, Adl IG Karachi, Secretaries – Finance Hassan Naqvi, School Education, Ahmed Bux Narejo, Industries Riazuddin, Dr Bari, Dr Faisal, Dr Sara of WHO, Dr Qaiser Sajjad and representatives of Corps-5, Rangers and other organizations.
The health department briefing the task force members said that 13,970 tests were conducted on June 18, against which 542 cases have been detected that constituted 3.9 per cent detection rate.
Though overall detection rate has come down, Karachi alone has 8.08 percent detection rate, the CM observed adding that in district Karachi East detection rate was recorded 14 percent, in South 10 percent, Central nine percent, Korangi and Malir seven percent each and in district Sukkur also seven percent.
The meeting was informed that Sindh had 82 COVID-19 related deaths during the previous week, of them Karachi East had 25 deaths, Central 25, Korangi eight, South and West six each and Sukkur four.
From June 3 to 18, as many as 263 patients succumbed to COVID-19, of them 75 percent or 151 were on ventilators, 19 percent or 49 off ventilators and 24 percent or 63 at homes. The meeting was told that so far 42,532 passengers landed at Jinnah Terminal, of whom 95 were detected as positive when tested.
The meeting was told that so far 3,243,988 doses of vaccines have been received, of them 2,873,857 utilized and only 370,141 were available in stock. The chief minister, keeping in view the available stock of the vaccine doses, decided to close all vaccination centers on Sunday (only on June 20).
Minister Health Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho briefed that the federal government has informed health department that Sputnik vaccine would be provided to Sindh by the last week of June or first week of July. She added that 1.5 million doses of SinoVac would be provided on June 21, 700,000 doses of Cansino and 400,000 doses of PakVac on June 23.
The chief minister commented that from next week sufficient jab doses would be available to speed up the vaccination drive. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, after a thorough discussion with the task force members, decided to open shrines, Indoor Gyms, Swimming pools and amusements parks with rides from June 28 subject to the fulfillment of some conditions such as ensuring social distancing, vaccinating staff members and wearing masks. The COVID situation would be reviewed again on June 28, 2021.
