Karachi: The Sindh government announced on Friday new coronavirus restrictions as the daily cases continued to surge in the province, Aaj TV reported.

The decision was taken during a meeting of the provincial Coronavirus Task Force, chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. The positivity rate in Sindh is 10.3%, the meeting was informed.

The task force decided that from July 26 (Monday) shopping malls and markets will only be allowed to open till 6:00 pm.

However, grocery stores, pharmacies and bakeries will be allowed to operate 24/7.

It was also decided that from next week wedding halls, restaurants and schools will be closed. Only takeaways will be allowed. Shrines will also be closed once again, the task force decided.

Moreover, public and private offices will only be allowed 50 percent of employees, the meeting decided. The rest will have to work from home.

Sindh decides to shut educational institutions, stop indoor dining

Meanwhile, the provincial government has also decided to approach the National Command and Operation Centre and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to block mobile sims of unvaccinated people.

On July 14, Sindh has decided to close all educational institutions, amusement parks, Seaview and Keenjhar lake from July 16. The government also decided to shut down cinemas, indoor gyms and indoor sports.

With the spread of the coronavirus Delta variant, the situation in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, has been alarming as public and some private sector hospitals are reaching capacity. At least 1,002 patients are in critical care.

According to the Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences at the University of Karachi, there is 92.2% prevalence of the Delta variant in the city.