Amid surge in coronavirus cases, Sindh demands ban on inter-provincial transport

Amid the surge in coronavirus cases in Pakistan, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani on Monday demanded a ban on inter-provincial transport, including air and rail from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan.

Amid the surge in coronavirus cases in Pakistan, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Gh on Monday demanded a ban on inter-provincial transport, including air and rail from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan.

At a press conference in Karachi, Gh said the number of coronavirus cases could rapidly increase in Sindh if people continued to commute from Punjab and KP, reported The News International.

He said the situation in Sindh was under control in terms of Covid-19 infections but it could get worse if the inter-provincial transport continued.

Pakistan has reported 43 more deaths and 4,323 new virus cases during the last 24 hours, reported The News International.

On Sunday, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) had suspended inter-provincial transport for two days a week (Saturday and Sunday) after a sharp rise in coronavirus cases.

According to the latest NCOC data, the positivity ratio of coronavirus cases in Pakistan was recorded at 9.96 per cent as the country reported 43 coronavirus-related deaths, including 14 in Punjab and 17 in KP during the last 24 hours, taking the national tally of fatalities to 14,821.

About 266,618 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh; 233,348 in Punjab; 92,423 in KP; 61,552 in Islamabad; 19,785 in Balochistan; and 5,059 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The number of active cases in the country was 61,450 with 3,587 patients in critical condition. About 2,902 more people recovered from the virus in the last 24 hours, taking the number of recovered cases to 615,960 with an 89 per cent recovery rate, reported The News International.

( With inputs from ANI )