'Provincial, federal govts should fight unitedly against COVID-19 '

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday once again called for the provincial and federal governments to get on the same page to tackle challenges arising out of the coronavirus epidemic in the country.

"During our meeting with the federal government yesterday, we asked for a uniform policy to deal with the situation," Shah said while addressing a press conference in Karachi.

"It was decided in Tuesday's meeting that the lockdown in the country would be extended for 14 days. All the provinces were unanimous in the decision that the lockdown should be extended," he said.

The Chief Minister added that there were some issues, however, that the provinces and the federal government did not agree on, Geo TV reported.

"Some provinces and the federal government agreed that some essential workplaces should reopen. We did not agree to open shops for barbers, plumbers, electricians etc," he said.

"We all agreed to restart the automobile sector and domestic flights with the implementation of decided SOPs. We, however, suggested that the federal government wait for another two weeks before resuming domestic flight operations," Shah said.

We also agreed on the reopening of export-related industries, he added.

Speaking about an announcement by religious leaders and traders that they would no longer abide by lockdown guidelines, the Chief Minister said: "We will facilitate ulema and traders in this regard by meeting them and keeping them in the loop for all discussions. I would like to thank the ulema and traders for cooperating with us (so far)."

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has extended the ongoing lockdown till April 30, as the number of coronavirus cases in the country crossed 6,000, with 113 deaths, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.