Sindh allows markets, retail shops to reopen
karachi — Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Sunday said that markets, retail shops in the province would be allowed to open from Monday, media reports said.
All markets, except shopping malls, will be allowed to resume functions, Shah announced at a Press briefing.
The shops will operate from 6am till 5pm under standard operating procedures, the chief minister said.
The decision followed successful negotiations between a traders’ alliance and Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah during which both sides agreed on the SOPs for regulating business activities.
The chief minister said health and safety of the public was the top priority of the government.
According to the SOPs, not more than three customers will be allowed inside a shop at a time, and a distance of four-five feet will be maintained between them.
If there’s a crowd outside a shop, the shopkeeper will be responsible to manage it while implementing social distancing rules.
The businesses that fail to comply with these orders will be sealed, the government has warned.
The traders will be responsible for the enforcement and compliance of the SOPs, the chief minister stressed. He called upon people to maintain social distancing, besides observing other guidelines. “We will take strict decisions in case of increase in coronavirus cases,” he added.
Punjab extends lockdown
In view of the incessant surge in daily Covid-19 cases, authorities in the province of Punjab and Islamabad capital territory have extended the lockdown restrictions for another three weeks till May 31 with certain exemptions provided to traders and businessmen.
A notification issued from District Magistrate Hamza Shafqat’s office on Saturday, cited by
said that all industries which are included in the second phase of the construction sector, all factories which are not included in the negative list, including the export industry, all retail shops, community markets and small shops excluding large shopping
malls and all parks, trails, golf clubs, tennis courts and similar facilities with no public gathering have been allowed to remain open.
However, shops are allowed to remain open for five days a week from 8am to 5pm and will remain closed on the weekends.
Senior doctors have expressed concerns over the government’s decision of relaxing lockdown and said that situation could worsen because of the lack of facilities in hospitals if cases of the virus surged.
Addressing a presser with other associations in Karachi, Doctor Ikram of the Pakistan Medical Association said that coronavirus cases will escalate after relaxation in lockdown.
The countrywide Covid-19 cases tally stood at 30,334 with 641 cases in Islamabad, 11,093 in Punjab, 11,480 in Sindh, 4,669 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1,935 in Balochistan, 86 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and 430 in GilgitBaltistan.