Karachi July 30 2021: Whereas there has been an exponential rise in the number of COVID-19 cases especially in Karachi — needless to mention that other parts of the province of Sindh remain equally vulnerable, and that this increase is apprehended to further rise if adequate preventive measures are not taken mainly being the prevention of social contact and gatherings in any form. For this, further immediate steps are required to step up the restrictions and closures for the purpose of breaking the chain of spread of the deadly virus.
Now, therefore, in exercise of powers under Section 3(1) of the Sindh Epidemic Diseases Act, 2014 (The Sindh Act VIII of 2015) and in continuation of earlier orders of even number, the Government of Sindh is satisfied that it has become imminent to prevent mixing/gathering/meeting of people by taking appropriate measures in order to contain the spread of COVID-19 and therefore complete ban is imposed on the movement — intra-city, Inter-city and Inter-provincial in public or private transport, and the gathering of people for any purpose — social, religious, customary, business, sports, entertainment, recreation, education, training, coaching, examination or for any other purpose at any place — public or private including offices within the territorial limits of the province of Sindh for a period of 09 days with effect from July 31’2021 to August 08’2021 except as provided herein:
Exemptions
1) Personnel and establishments/premises related exclusively to export sector.
2) Personnel related to Health Services like Hospitals, Laboratories and Medical stores.
3) Personnel related to Law Enforcing Agencies enforcing / implementing this order.
4) Personnel related to Essential Services / Offices going to perform their duties or providing essential services as declared in later part of this order.
5) Persons in need of medical care with an attendant where necessary.
6) Persons going for vaccination within their respective district of residence.
7) Person going to buy grocery and medicines in extreme emergency.
8) Necessary / unavoidable religious rites like the last rites, Namaz-e-Janaza, Burial and related events provided that all precautions against spread of disease are taken and a safe distance of 01 meter (3 feet) is maintained among people gathered in small numbers / close family members after prior intimation to SHO of the area. Assistant Commissioner and SDPO of the area will supervise and as and when necessary provide added force /manpower for compliance.
9) Restaurants may remain functional only and only for the purpose of delivery subject to following of all SOPs. However, for the staff and delivery personnel vaccination is mandatory. The delivery personnel must have in their possession vaccination certificates for inspection by the law enforcement personnel.
10) Home delivery under e-commerce provided that staff at warehouses/godowns and the delivery personnel shall be fully vaccinated and be in possession of vaccination certificate for inspection by law enforcement personnel,
11) Any exemption granted under this order or that, as may be deemed necessary by the Government of Sindh.
Essential Services:
i. Health & related services Like hospitals, medical stores, laboratories, vaccination services, manufacturers
ii. Food and related industry/ manufacturers
iii. Standalone Grocery Stores, Fish, Meat, Vegetable / Fruit Vendors, Bakery Shops, Tandoors and Dairy Shops.
iv. Essential Municipal Services
v. Electricity & SSGC
vi. Water Supply (including supply by water tankers where essential) & Sewerage
vii. Port operations, PNSC & Custom Services
viii. PTA/PTCL/NTC Service Staff
ix. Cellular companies Service staff for repair maintenance of towers/cables
x. Banks (with limited staff for services)
xi. Stock Exchange, CDC and related services (with limited staff)
xii. Petrol Pumps
xiii. Welfare Organizations Chippa, Edhi, Seylani& JDC providing essential services.
xiv. Media Persons authorized by Information department, newspaper hawkers
xv. Any other class as may be deemed essential and so declared by the Government.
Timings For Selected Essential Services:
Standalone Grocery Stores, Fish, meat, vegetable / fruit vendors and dairy shops
shall remain closed from 06:00 pm to 06:00 am.
SOPs for Export Oriented Business:
Industrial establishments, businesses, offices/premises exclusively dealing with export may remain functional provided the owner/manager/officer in charge issues specific and express order in this regard and has valid export orders.
Any person who is owner, manager, in-charge or person responsible for any such premises where general public visits or workers/staff works/perform duties has to ensure following measures:
i. The entire staff / labour including management and security personnel shall be fully vaccinated and must have in their possession vaccination certificates for inspection by law enforcement personnel.
ii. The workers and staff are properly briefed on the COVID-19 and spread of disease and the required precautions against the disease as well as symptoms of the disease and required steps of self-isolation and seeking proper medical advice.
iii. Display at prominent places the instructions and awareness posters in Urdu, Sindhi and English (as per language commonly read/understood) for workers and staff and at entrance for the visitors/ customers. Where necessary pictorial version of instructions and awareness posters may be used for labour class.
iv. That the practice of handshake and greetings by physical contact in any manner is forbidden among worker/staff/public. Instead, greetings by way of waving of hands or bowing or paying respect by folding both hands or placing right hand on the left side of the chest or any other alternate method as per social and cultural norms should be advised.
v. Thermal guns are to be provided and used at the entrance to screen the entrants.
vi. Persons with high temperature or flue like symptoms and cough should not be allowed.
vii. Entry & Exit points should be properly managed with sufficient staff.
viii. Sufficient availability of hand-sanitizers or ideally hand washing facility to be ensured at the entrance/ exit gates as well as in the office/workplace for all the staff/workers to use.
ix. Such industrial units / business concerns to maintain trained medical staff / doctor for screening etc,
x. All such workplaces are required to have a register maintained of ALL the persons (Management, staff, workers labourers weather permanent or temporarily hired etc.) engaged in any form of activity at that premises,
General Decisions
- No person is allowed to come out at any public place, wherever permitted, without any valid reason.
- Travel in groups without keeping a distance of over three feet between the individuals is strictly prohibited. Pillion riding on motor bikes is therefore not permitted in any case.
- No more than two persons should travel in a car. Third person can be allowed only in case where a sick person being carried requires such an attendant.
- Persons coming out in public places for some necessity must compulsorily wear a mask.
- Adequate arrangements for hand disinfection by use of hand sanitizers (that meet minimum standard of containing at least 70% alcohol) and ideally, where possible, frequent hand washing with soap and water thoroughly washing hands for at least 20 seconds.
- To use tissue paper and properly dispose off, and sneeze/cough in elbow instead of openly in air.
- All those suffering from flu, flu like symptoms, fever, dry cough and body aches must not visit any public place especially any closed premises and must seek medical advice.
- To carry and use hand sanitizers (or preferably hand washing with soap) after touching any open public place/item. Special care is to be taken that while using the ATM Machine / Credit /Debit Card mobile machines customer must wipe the area to be touched with sanitizer before using it and washing /disinfecting hand with sanitizer after such activity.
Essential Measures
a. Mandatory Wearing of Face Mask at Public places.
b. Carrying of CNIC at all places.
c. Keeping of Distance between individuals at any place and appropriate measure to ensure it.
d. Frequent hand sanitization or preferably washing hands with soap frequently
e. Avoiding crowded and closed spaces.
f. Avoiding as far as possible to come out in public unnecessarily.
g. Proper ventilation of offices / workplaces.
h. Special precautions by elderly and those with chronic disease.
i. Proper measures for disinfecting frequently used items / places.
Distancing Measures:
I. Ensure that only minimal essential staff for the permissible activities/operation is engaged.
II. Further, as far as is possible, engage in an online and work from home mode of operation.
III. No employee or worker over the age of 55 is called for work at work places.
IV. Modify work stations or stagger hours to increase space between staff, visitors and customers/clients. Also determine and display room/hall capacity for persons, keeping in view the over three feet distance required to be kept between individuals.
V. Reduce congestion by implementing staggered / phased arrival, departure, and break times. Floor markings and dedicated staff to ensure proper queuing of customers/ workers/ labourers is required so as to ensure proper queuing with distance between the persons. If necessary seating for handicapped may be provided for use by them while waiting like queues at banks / shops,
Workplace Cleanliness:
I. The workers/staff shall wear masks and hand gloves which are to be ensured in sufficient quantity by the Owner / CEO / Management.
II. The items that are touched/ used by multiple users must be wiped clean with proper disinfectant after every use, This includes door handles, copy machines/printers, break rooms, remotes, light switches, telephones, keyboards and machinery/equipment operated by the workers/labourers/staff/customer after every use. Dedicated staff should be deputed for this purpose.
III. The floor must on be cleaned regular basis with disinfectant before and after every shift and premises fumigated as required.
IV. Proper ventilation of work place and all places for workers/ staff/ customers is to be ensured.
V. All the waste from any process is to be probably disposal off and in no case thrown out in open.
Other Areas / Workplaces:
i. Ensure that during lunch or other breaks enough space is provided to workers/staff alongwith the floor markings, who should sit at a distance of at-least three feet apart or if the space is small the break be allowed to workers/staff in a phased manner.
ii. Area must be properly ventilated.
iii. That Prayer area to have no mats / rugs and only limited persons pray at one time to ensure adequate spacing between them and that the floor is wiped clean before and after every prayer.
iv. Toilets are to be kept clean and disinfected after use. Dedicated worker be employed to wipe out/ disinfect after every use.
v. Canteen/Cooking/Baking places as applicable, to adopt same measures of distancing, including floor markings for those serving as well as those being served and use of disposable gloves, masks and head cover by the cook & serving persons. The utensils will be cleaned after every use. Raw material to be touched & prepared wearing gloves all the time as well as while serving.
vi. All the factory, mill owners etc. having residence of employees/workers within premises shall ensure similar measures for awareness and ensuring adherence by workers as well as provision of such facilities for cleanliness/disinfection at workers residing places in the facility / premises.
vii. In large workplace, specially with residential arrangement/area within such place a separate place must be ear-marked for isolation for symptomatic/ suspected individuals for further screening/testing and/or transfer to a health facility for further management/treatment of such individual(s).
Responsibility:
i. It shall be the responsibility of owner/manager to ensure compliance of above directions, as well as other applicable directions issued by Government from time to time.
ii. It shall be ensured that all the staff/ persons at the premises/ site are properly briefed on the Covid-19 spread, preventive steps/ precautions against the spread of the virus, sign/symptoms etc. and that all the precautionary measures are followed by all present within such premise/site/workplace.
iii. Necessary instructions / protocols may be prepared in the light of these SOPs for ensuring compliance by all concerned.
iv. The owner/management shall ensure that if there are any signs symptoms in any of labour/employee of COVID-19, it shall be incumbent upon the owner/management to get that labour/employee screened from the hospital and follow relevant SOPs for suspected cases.
v. If the virus spread amongst the worker/labour or community then the owner / management shall accordingly take all necessary measures including suspension of activities till clearance given by Health Authorities. Screening/Testing regime has been notified separately by concerned health authorities who may be contacted for the needful.
vi. Owner, / CEO shall be responsible for treatment / welfare of worker / laboures / persons contracting the disease and any further action required for control of such spread,
vii. Random tests for Covid-19 may be conducted by health authorities from time to time. In case, of any positive case and required further testing for other contacts of any positive case the expenses may be required to be borne by the owner/CEO/Management.
Transportation of Human Resource
i. Whichever business or workplace is allowed to work shall engage/ hire/ contract a vehicle for transporting their employees to and back from workplace or the employees / staff / workers can travel individually on motor-cycle or private cars as instructed under General Instructions above.
ii. The designated vehicle shall be intimated at the office of the DC, SSP and Labour Department, with detailed description of the vehicle i.e. Make, reg. no., model, capacity and Color. Moreover, the details like Names and CNIC number of Driver and the Passengers is to be logged in register to be maintained for the purpose.
iii. Only such vehicles for workers shall be allowed to ply on the roads that have been approved by the DC(s) concerned in coordination with the SSP(s) who shall maintain such list.
iv. Such transport vehicle shall not carry Passengers more than 1/3″ of its maximum capacity for the purposes of ensuring social distancing.
v. It shall also be ensured that all the passengers while boarding and disembarking a vehicle, shall maintain well-spaced queue maintaining a distance of over 3 feet / 1 meter all the time.
vi. It shall be ensured that the passengers sitting in the vehicle are at least 1 meter apart from one another.
vii. The said vehicle shall be designated with a banner pasted / dis describing the name of company/office/ industry with its location.
viii. The vehicle shall carry banner with specific instructions related to preventive measures for COVID-19 infection.
ix. It shall be the responsibility of the organization to ensure that all persons inside the vehicle wear protective face masks all the time while travelling.
x. While travelling to and from the factory, the driver shall ensure that doors and windows are opened and vehicle properly ventilated.
xi. The vehicle shall be disinfected by using recommended disinfectant at-least once daily.
Goods Transportation into a workplace / Industrial Unit etc:
i. Raw materials, dissembled parts of machinery and any other material required to be possessed by an industrial unit for a finished product shall be only allowed to enter the industrial unit or premises after the vehicle is completely sanitized and disinfected at the entry point.
ii. Temperature of the drivers, conductors, loaders and other staff of the vehicle transporting such materials shall be monitored at entry points along with other indicators of COVID-19 that are flu, cough and muscular pain etc.
iii. No person(s) associated with such vehicles having any or all symptoms of COVID-19 shall be allowed to enter the industrial unit or premises.
iv. All material/goods received shall be properly sanitized and disinfect industrial unit or premises is granted.
v. Seating arrangement of such vehicle amongst the individual feet distance is maintained.
vi. Individuals occupying such vehicles shall wash hands with soap before entry into an ink unit or premises and subsequently their hands shall be sanitized. Viz Proper head gear, gloves, gown and masks shall be worn by the individuals occupying such vehicles. No persons) without proper gear shall be allowed entry to industrial unit or premises.
NOTE: Further instructions as may be necessary to contain the spread of virus may be issued by the Government from time to time.
As may be issued by the government for further steps necessary to contain Covid-19 spread.
