HYDERABAD: Hyder­abad central prison authorities have suspended for the time being production of undertrial prisoners in courts, among other precautionary measures, over fears of spread of coronavirus.

According to jail superintendent Ziaur Rehman, no prisoner was produced in any court for last three days and all courts had been formally intimated about the measure.

He said that the administration had provided soaps and masks to 2,190 inmates and restricted their interviews to only jail’s specified area behind glass barrier. For now, no interview of any inmate was allowed, he said.

He said that any accused who was being remanded in judicial custody would have to get himself screened first at a hospital before getting into jail. An area within jail hospital had been specified as isolation ward to keep any suspected coronavirus case, he said.

MITHI: Majority of people in Tharparkar district appeared to have completely disregarded the chief minister’s advice to go into self-isolation for three days as part of government’s measures to contain spread of coronavirus.

People were seen busy in their routine life in Mithi, Islamkot, Diplo, Nagarparkar, Chhachhro, Kaloi and other towns of the district where many of the shops which were closed a few days back were reopened.

Rights activists and health experts have demanded imposition of complete lockdown in all big and small towns to avert spread of the deadly virus.

BADIN: People in Badin, Tando Bago, Talhar, Matli, Golarchi, Kario Ghanwar and other towns did not give a positive response to the chief minister’s advice and were seen gathered at shops without caring much about the precautionary measures against the virus.

Health experts and members of civil society expressed deep concern over peoples’ carelessness and demanded imposition of curfew to force people to remain indoors.

The district administration has set up a quarantine centre at Government High School to lodge pilgrims who may return from Iran and suspected patients of coronavirus.

Dr Imranul Hassan Khawaja, focal person, told media that nobody had been shifted to the centre at present but doctors had already been assigned duties.

THATTA: Deputy Com­missioner Usman Tanveer has claimed that all 88 Thatta residents who have recently returned to their homes after visiting sacred places in Iran have confined themselves voluntarily to their houses and none of them have shown any symptoms of Covid-19.

He said in a press release that 14 out of 88 pilgrims who did not complete their 14-day quarantine period after returning to the country were in constant touch with local medical teams.

He claimed that as of Saturday not a single case of Covid-19 had been reported in the district. However, precautionary measures had been made to tackle the situation.

He said that a number of isolation wards at Police Line Hospital in Makli, Polytechnic Collage, Gharo, Sakro and Keti Bandar had been set up to face any emergency.

Meanwhile, people remained indoors and the city gave a deserted look throughout the day.

Police and members of other law-enforcement agencies patrolled the streets in the district.

DADU: Police teams arrested 25 shopkeepers in Dadu, Khairpur Nathan Shah and Mehar towns for violating Section 144 CrPC and 188 PPC and registered FIRs against them.

Before taking the action, police warned shopkeepers through megaphones to shut the shops in bazaars and shopping centres and avoid public gathering.

Meanwhile, Dadu assistant commissioner and mukhtiarkar paid surprise visits to vegetable, fruit and fish markets and fined 10 traders for overcharging. Dadu police sealed Sindh-Balochistan borders along Khirthar mountain range in the district.

MIRPURKHAS: A total of 116 people came from abroad, 67 of them were in their houses and none of them was found to be coronavirus positive after test, according to Deputy Commissioner Zahid Hussain Memon.

He said at a meeting on coronavirus that at present 52 returnees would remain under watch for 14 days and the suspected patients would be tested at Aga Khan Hospital.

Kamran Shaikh, chairman of municipal committee, said that awareness camps had been set up at 22 places where masks, soaps, sanitisers and pamphlets were distributed among masses.

SHIKARPUR: Lawyers took out a rally and staged a demonstration outside the office of district bar association in protest against district administration’s decision to set up an isolation ward at public school’s hostel.

The lawyers demanded the administration take back the decision in the larger interest of students and parents and shift the isolation ward to another place to minimise risk to the school.

Meanwhile, complete lockdown was observed in Shikarpur in response to the chief minister’s advice and most citizens remained at home.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2020