Sindh govt to lift lockdown in phases across province from May 11: CM Murad

• Chief minister says shopping malls, mega stores, cinemas, marriage halls and large markets will remain closed while only construction industry will operate.
• There will be 100 percent lockdown on Saturdays and Sundays: Murad.
• CM says five people died of coronavirus while 5,532 tests have been conducted during the last 24 hours.

(Karachi) Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has said that the provincial government will implement federal government's decision to lift lockdown in the province in phases from May 11 (Monday).

Addressing a media briefing on coronavirus situation, he said shopping malls, restaurants, mega stores, cinemas, marriage halls and large markets will remain closed while small markets and shops will open. "All businesses that were shut prior to May 9 will continue to remain closed from Monday."

He said only the construction industry will open while other businesses will remain closed till further notice. Shah said that there will be 100 percent lockdown on Saturdays and Sundays.

He said the Sindh government implemented on the instructions of the federal government regarding lockdown. He said that the prime minister gave authority to the provinces to decide on the lockdown situation and make changes keeping in view the current situation.

Murad said, "There is an impression that Sindh government is working in isolation, but it is not the case. We are working with the federal government."

He remarked, "The federal government disagree with some measures we propose while we don't agree with some of their suggestions."

Shah said that he advised the federal government not to make decisions under the influence of emotions. "Decisions needed to be taken after considering facts and data," he said.

The government has taken different countries' approaches to handle the novel coronavirus, before making the decision to ease restrictions, Murad Ali Shah said.

He said that the leadership noted that Iran had imposed a lockdown when cases started to rise in the country and introduced relaxations once the number of cases started to recede. Germany and Italy also imposed the lockdown after cases started to peak but now they have started lifting restrictions now that the curve is flattening.

The United States, he noted, was late in making its decision since, by the time a lockdown was imposed, the number of cases in America reported daily had crossed 18,000.

Pakistan, he pointed out, imposed a lockdown as soon as the first case was reported which prevented the curve to take a steep upwards turn.

Regarding corona cases, he said that five people died of coronavirus while 5,532 tests have been conducted during the last 24 hours. Of the total number of tests, 98 people tested positive for the virus, the CM said.

The chief minister mentioned that 598 new cases emerged in the province over the past 24 hours.

He said that 176 people have died of the deadly virus so far. Shah pointed out the total number of corona patients in the province is 9,691 while 77 people have recovered from the deadly disease during the last 24 hours.

Murad Ali Shah urged public to take precautions and stay at homes to curb spread of virus. He advised people to wear masks when going out of their homes.