Karachi: Home dept issues notification to ensure use of masks in public places

Masks to be made mandatory in bazaars, malls, educational institutions, and parks, says Home Department

Web Desk

September 07, 2021

A vendor selling facemasks waits for customers along the streets of Karachi on June 8, 2020. Photo: AFP/File.

Home Department sent a letter to the commissioners and deputy commissioners of Karachi and Hyderabad.
Masks to be made mandatory within bazaars, malls, hotels, restaurants, wedding halls, educational institutions, and parks, says Home dept.
Guidelines follow the NCOC curbs for Karachi, Hyderabad in light of increasing coronavirus cases.

KARACHI: The Sindh Home Department on Monday directed citizens to use masks in public places in Karachi and Hyderabad, Geo News reported.

The Sindh Home Department sent a letter to the commissioners and deputy commissioners of Karachi and Hyderabad instructing them to make sure public masks are used within public places.

According to the letter, the home department has directed that measures should be taken to ensure that people wear face masks in hotels, restaurants and wedding halls.

Home Department has also called for steps to be taken so that masks are made mandatory within bazaars, malls, educational institutions, and parks. The letter also directed for masks to be distributed free of cost in public spaces.

The Home Department has further ordered that banners asking people to wear masks should be issued and an advertising campaign should also be initiated so people are encouraged to wear masks.

The letter enforcing people to wear masks comes as Pakistan battles with the fourth wave of coronavirus. While daily cases are going down, the country's positivity rate is still at 6.27%.

Earlier on Friday, Sindh Home Department had rolled out fresh coronavirus-related restrictions in Karachi Division and Hyderabad District of the province.

According to the new guidelines, indoor wedding events were disallowed in Karachi and Hyderabad and outdoor wedding events were limited to 300 guests.

Further, indoor dining services were discontinued in the two cities and outdoor dining services were limited to 10pm.

The National Command and Operating Center (NCOC) had imposed a new set of restrictions in the federal capital, and selected districts of Sindh, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, from September 4 till September 12 in order to contain the spread of coronavirus.