COVID hotspots: Micro smart lockdown imposed in more areas of Karachi

(Karachi) The Sindh government has imposed a micro smart lockdown in several areas of the city due to a drastic rise in coronavirus cases, local media reported on Sunday.

As per details, the micro smart lockdown has been imposed in Gulberg, Liaquatabad, North Karachi, and North Nazimabad towns. The authorities have identified 64 active coronavirus cases in these areas.

A notification issued in this regard stated that the restrictions will remain in place for two weeks while the movement of people in affected areas has been restricted.

Besides, only grocery shops and pharmacies will remain open on specific timings mentioned by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC). Similarly, all public transport including private ride-hailing services will be restricted to enter these areas as well, the notification said.

Separately, home delivery or take away service will also not be allowed while all industrial units located in these areas will remain shut.

There has been a complete ban on holding family gatherings and events in the lockdown areas.

Earlier, Sindh Health Minister Dr. Azra Pechuho said that the new UK COVID-19 variant responsible for the surge in infections across other provinces is now spreading at a rapid pace in Sindh.

Pechuho said that the provincial health ministry carried out a genomic analysis of 22 virus samples from patients out of which 18 are found to be of the UK variant. "There are also two cases detected of the variant B1135," she said.

“The variant that we detected in March is now seen spreading in Sindh.” She said that there’s a risk that the new variant might result in a rapid increase in cases in Karachi and Hyderabad. She mentioned the new virus variant spreads much faster than other variants.