Coronavirus outbreak: One million soaps to be distributed in Sindh

The Sindh government will purchase over a million bars of soap to distribute them among the masses, Sindh Information and Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said on Tuesday.

Directives have already been issued to every union council and all union committees in Sindh to purchase soap worth up to Rs100,000, The News has reported.

Shah said the decision was a part of measures being taken to curb the spread of COVID-19. “The Sindh government will take all possible steps necessary to keep the people safe from the coronavirus,” he said.

Shah said the soap would be purchased and distributed among the public soon so that people could protect themselves to some extent from the virus.

Read more: How did coronavirus spread from Taftan? Were pilgrims properly screened, isolated?

He said a campaign regarding the distribution of soaps would also be publicised through the media so that people could get them easily.

In the first phase, the minister said, all union councils in the province would purchase soap amounting to Rs100,000, after which, gradually if needed, the campaign would be extended to other areas of the province. There are 1,175 union councils and 351 union committees in Sindh.

The minister said people should not be worried about the rapid spread of the coronavirus as at the moment the situation was under control, adding that the Sindh government was in a state of high alert.

He said the Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah was personally monitoring the situation and had also issued instructions to all members of his cabinet in this regard. He said the only way to remain safe from getting affected by the coronavirus was to take precautions.

Bachat Bazaars

Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar has ordered that no Bachat Bazaars (discount markets) will operate in the city in view of the coronavirus threat. 

According to a notification issued by the KMC, preventative measures for curbing the spread of COVID-19 are being taken.

The notification is addressed to the All Karachi Bachat Bazar Association, the All Korangi Association chairman and the All Bachat Bazars organisers.

Read more: Sindh to close restaurants, shopping malls for 15 days over coronavirus scare

“In the wake of the recent outbreak of COVID-19 [which has been] declared a pandemic and in order to taking preventive measures for its further spread … the mayor Karachi has directed for the stoppage of all Bachat Bazaars organised within the jurisdiction of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation,” the notification said.

It added that all permissions issued by the department for organising Bachat Bazaars or festivals had been temporarily suspended with immediate effect.

The press statement has also asked all individuals and organisations, which were earlier got permissions to hold festivals and Bachat Bazaars, to strictly follow the ban “else their licenses will be permanently cancelled”.

Spray at shrines

As part of the preventative measures against the coronavirus spread, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has started carrying out antibacterial spray at all shrines in the city.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday, they include the shrines of Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ghazi, Hazrat Masoom Shah Ghazi, Hazrat Qalandar Baba Aulia, and Hazrat Syed Noor Ali Shah Bukhari. Meanwhile, the jails of the city are also being sprayed.