One of the communities that had seen a high proportion of coronavirus cases – appeared to have returned to life as normal, soon after the day the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the reopening of shops across the country.
Shutters were pulled up in every shop and market in the locality on Tuesday, while few of those visiting them bothered with face masks. Shopkeepers, too, did not deem it necessary to ask customers to observe social distancing, unafraid of any consequences for violating the standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Praising the SC’s decision, resident Muhammad Ashraf explained that the people of Lyari would not take the guidelines given by the Sindh government seriously.
“We do not trust our institutions. The police mean being forced to give bhatta [protection money], while everyone knows what the healthcare system is like in our province,” he asserted. “The SC has taken the right decision and is actually speaking about the issues of the poor people,” he insisted. “Yes, the virus is here but it is not because of us citizens, it’s because of the government’s wrong policies.”
