By News Desk KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: Terming the COVID-19 situation in Karachi as alarming, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah directed the IGP Sindh and Commissioner to ensure timely closure of all the businesses by 6 in the evening and constituted a ministerial committee to sensitise all the stakeholders, including shopkeepers, traders, transporters and politicians to cooperate with the government in the supreme interest of the public health, otherwise nothing will remain under control. In Karachi the detection rate was recorded at 26.32 percent on July 26. Amid a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in the province, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has issued directives to ban unnecessary movement after 6pm. The orders were issued during a meeting of the Provincial Task Force on Tuesday after reviewing the latest pandemic situation. He urged people to stay home and avoid going out without any valid reason. This he said while presiding over a meeting of the Provincial Task Force on Coronavirus here at the CM House on Monday. The meeting was attended by provincial ministers, high officials, representatives of Corps-5, Rangers and other organisations. Briefing the meeting, Secretary Health Dr Kazim Jatoi said that COVID detection ratio in the province has reached 12.7 percent which was the highest in the fourth wave. In Karachi the detection rate was recorded at 26.32 percent on July 26. At this the chief minister said that on July 20 Karachi had 20 percent detection rate which went on increasing to 23 percent on July 21, 21.54 percent on July 22, 23.46 percent on July 24, 24.82 percent on July 25 and 26.32 percent on July 26. “This is quite a critical situation,” he said.