Coranavirus cases in Pak surge to 510

Islamabad: The number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan on Saturday surged to 510 as more pilgrims who returned from Iran tested positive for the deadly virus even as the death toll remained three in the country.

Pakistan confirmed the third casualty from the virus in Karachi on Friday, two days after two men both pilgrims returning from Iran and Saudi Arabia died of the coronavirus in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The 70-year-old who died in Karachi was a cancer survivor. He had other medical problems like hypertension and diabetes but did not have any travel or contact history, officials said.

The nationwide tally of COVID-19 patients has rose to 510 with 267 cases in Sindh; 92 in Balochistan; 96 in Punjab; 23 in K-P; 21 in Gilgit-Baltistan; 10 in Islamabad; and one in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

In the worst-affected Sindh province 15 new cases were reported on Saturday, the provincial health minister said.

Karachi’s Expo Centre has been turned into a field hospital for the patients.