Coronavirus cases in Pakistan reaches 179

Islamabad, March 16 Pakistan on Monday reported 179 coronavirus cases after a sharp increase was reported among pilgrims who had recently returned to the country from Iran via the Taftan border and were quarantined in Sukkur.

The total number of confirmed cases in Sindh surged from 103 to 146 after 43 new cases were reported in Sukkur, Sindh Chief Minister's adviser Murtaza Wahab confirmed, Pakistani media reported.

Wahab in his tweet said, "Total number of ppl affected by coronavirus in Sindh has reached 146. Out of this, 119 are Zaireen who are being kept in Sukkur, 26 are in Khi & 1 is in Hyd. This exponential increase is largely due to the recent inflow of ppl brought in from Taaftaan after a purported qurantine."

Earlier in the day, the Sindh health department had said that a total of 76 people from Taftan have tested positive for the virus in Sukkur, where they have been quarantined, while there are 27 cases in Karachi and one in Hyderabad.

Fifteen new cases have also been reported by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, all of whom were pilgrims who had returned to Pakistan via Taftan.

Ten cases have been reported by Balochistan, four by Islamabad, three by Gilgit Baltistan and one by Punjab.

( With inputs from IANS )