Sindh govt terminates over 280 medical staff hired during COVID-19 pandemic

The Sindh Health Department has officially dismissed 289 healthcare workers, including doctors and paramedics, who were recruited during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022.

A notification issued by the department confirms that the termination will be effective from today, June 30.

These healthcare professionals were initially hired on 89-day contracts as part of the province’s emergency response to the pandemic, which hit Pakistan in February 2020.

During that period, the Sindh government established quarantine centres and expanded its medical workforce to manage the public health crisis.

The dismissed staff were deployed across several districts including Karachi, Hyderabad, Larkana, Sukkur, and Naushero Feroz. According to the notification, the services of these employees are no longer required as the COVID-19 situation has been under control for the past two years.

Read: Karachi reports four deaths as COVID-19 cases rise in summer 

It was also noted that the appointments were made without going through the Sindh Public Service Commission, which the government cited as a procedural reason for not retaining them permanently.

No official statement has been made yet regarding possible future hiring or the integration of these professionals into the permanent health system.

Earlier, at least four people, mostly elderly individuals with underlying health conditions, reported dying of COVID-19 in Karachi amid a noticeable surge in cases over the past two weeks, according to health officials and experts.

The Sindh Health Department had firmly denied media reports claiming that four individuals in the province had died due to COVID-19.

In an official statement issued by the department clarified that all four deceased individuals were over the age of 60 and had been suffering from multiple underlying health conditions.