COVID-19: Pakistan's Sindh closes offices, public spots

KARACHI, Pakistan

All shopping malls, restaurants, parks, and other public places will be closed for 15 days, starting Wednesday, in Sindh, Pakistan’s southern province that is worst hit by the coronavirus outbreak.

Government offices will also be closed and inter-city bus services suspended for 15 days from Thursday onwards, the provincial government announced on Tuesday.

The measures come amid a surge in coronavirus cases in Sindh, which rose to 172 on Tuesday, according to a government official.

The official clarified that grocery stores and pharmacies will remain open, while restaurants can continue takeaway and delivery services.

National tally rises, academic calendar disrupted

Officials of the federal government confirmed that Pakistan’s nationwide tally rose to 236 on Tuesday, after 142 new coronavirus cases were reported over the past 24 hours.

According to Health Ministry officials, the new cases were reported in the northeastern Punjab, southern Sindh, and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces.

The officials said most of the new COVID-19 patients had recently returned from neighboring Iran, which has the highest number of cases and deaths after China and Italy.

In view of the worsening outbreak, the federal government on Tuesday decided to postpone all secondary education examinations across the country.

In a series of tweets, Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood announced that “O and A level exams of Cambridge due in May and June, would be postponed”.

“Exams to be conducted by the Federal and Provincial Boards […] too would be postponed and would now be held between 1st June and 15th July,” he said, adding that the respective provincial boards would issue the revised schedule.

Mahmood further said that all universities would also delay their admissions process until October.