Business Hours in Sindh Extended till 8 pm As Vaccination Becomes Mandatory for Traders

The government of Sindh recently made an announcement saying that business hours in the province will be extended till 8pm, starting from the 7th of June, Monday. It also declared that vaccination is now mandatory for all the traders and staff. All workers in a shop or restaurant must have proof of vaccination with them during working hours. 

The announcement was made by Murad Ali Shah, the Chief Minister of Sindh, shortly after a meeting was held of the corona taskforce in the province.

The Chief Minister went on to add that starting from Sunday, the vaccination certificates of the staff of any and every business will be checked fortnightly. 

At the meeting, the members of the corona taskforce also decided that educational institutions will be reopened for grades 9 and above. In addition, outdoor gatherings, as well as wedding halls, will be permitted to resume operations two weeks later. Outdoor gatherings, as per directives, will be allowed to stay open until midnight. However, social distancing guidelines must be followed at all times. 

Saeed Ghani, the Minister for Education in Sindh, took to the micro-blogging website, Twitter, to add that it mandatory for the staff in schools to get the jab against the virus as well.

The meeting also agreed unanimously that sea view, along with other beaches, will be given permission to welcome the public. Salons, on the other hand, can operate too but with strict adherence to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the coronavirus. 

The attendees of the meeting were given updates regarding the coronavirus positivity ratio in the province, which is currently at 8.5%. On the 1st of June, this figure was at 12.45% but, is now readily decreasing. 

Karachi East recorded a positivity ratio of 18%, West reported 11%, whereas District South and Malir said that their ratio was at 10%. Hyderabad has revealed that the positivity ratio recorded in the city was at 11.06% as of the 5th of June. 

The members of the coronavirus task force were informed that 79 patients of the deadly disease in Karachi are currently on ventilators, whereas Nawabshah reported only two. 

During the meeting, the Chief Minister instructed that Health Ministry of the province to ensure that 19 million people are vaccinated in the upcoming three months. 

On the 3rd of June, Dr. Azra Pechuho, the Health Minister of Sindh, announced that the provincial government was taking all the necessary steps required to make sure that students do not contract the virus, once they return to schools. 

While speaking at a news conference in the City of Lights, she disclosed that the relevant authorities have not yet decided whether or not schools in Sindh will be reopened. However, she added that the vaccination drive has gathered speed and started to incorporate the inoculation of school employees, as well as teachers. 

She added that the Health Ministry of the province is cooperating with the Education Ministry of Sindh to come up with a strategy that allows them to vaccinate all staff members and teachers on a priority basis.