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The ‘selective’ lockdown will remain in place till July 7
Sindh capital Karachi is set to commence its own “selective” lockdown of coronavirus hotspots from 7 p.m. tonight, authorities have said.
A notification issued by Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Ali Shallwani said “sensitive areas” were being locked down to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. It said the lockdown would commence from 7 p.m. on June 18 (today), and would end on July 7. It also issued the standard operating procedures that would be enforced in those areas:
- No entry or exit from locked down areas without face masks
- Movement of people within the affected areas will be severely restricted, with only one member of any household allowed to leave to purchase food and medicines
- Only grocery shops/convenience stores and pharmacies would be allowed to remain open, while all other business activities shall remain shut without exceptions
- All industrial units in these areas would be shut
- No home delivery/take away from restaurants would be allowed
- One attendant, if necessary, would be allowed to accompany people who need to go to hospital
- No family gatherings would be allowed in private homes
- No unnecessary travel outside the house; residents would have to provide valid reasons for leaving their homes
- All public transport is banned within the locked down areas
- The government would strive to provide rations to the needy residing in these areas through philanthropic organizations and its own resources
- Government would try to provide mobile dispensaries, utility stores in the affected areas
The areas set to be sealed include parts of district Korangi, district South, district East, district West, and district Malir.
The National Command and Operation Center on Monday issued a list of 20 cities across Pakistan that have potential COVID-19 hotspots requiring “restrictive measures” to curb the spread of the virus. Among the cities that pose concern are Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Multan, Islamabad, Quetta and Peshawar.