The business activities in Sindh,especially in Karachi, on Monday have resumed after 50-day closure due to coronavirus outbreak. Large crowds were witnessed at retail markets – Saddar, Tariq Road, Liaquatabad and other areas – as shop and business owners continued their activities. Several shops in the city’s Light House Market were opened around 8:00 in the morning. However, it was witnessed that majority of shops and businesses violated the rules and standard operating procedures given by the Sindh government on the first day of resumption of business activity in the province. Public transport remains shut, but factories and offices have been allowed to resume operations. Restrictions on mosque attendance had already been lifted before last week’s announcement. “We opened today after almost two months; I am almost bankrupt and owe workers their salaries,” said Muhammad Sattar, a garment shop owner in one of the busiest commercial areas of Karachi. Areas around wholesale markets in Karachi saw heavy traffic jams, and there were also big crowds in the commercial centres of Lahore and Quetta. However, there are signs that Pakistan’s outbreak is accelerating. Of the 690 deaths from the coronavirus, more than 200 have been registered over the past week, and there are over 31,000 confirmed infections. MuttahidaQaumi Movement (MQM-P) leader Faisal Sabzwaritweeted his frustration with many citizens: “If 99 per cent, 95pc of shopkeepers and buyers are not wearing masks, what’s the point of talking about other precautionary measures?” But with EidulFitr coming in two weeks, crowds are likely to increase. According to the SOPs, the retailers would not allow any customer without face masks and there would be a distance of at least six feet between each person. “The shop owner will deal with only one customer at a time.” The SOPs further states that the retailers must keep hand sanitizers and check customers’ temperature through thermal guns, but except for a few retail outlets, the majority of shops lacked the facilities. “After two months, the shops have been opened and Eid is around the corner. How can we convince a huge crowd to follow rules? Corona is now over. Nothing will happen,” a garment retailer on Tariq Road said.
