Pakistan: Coronavirus Cases Surge To 184, Most Linked To Squalid Conditions In Quarantine Camp For Pilgrims

With 90 new coronavirus cases confirmed in the last 24 hours, the number of COVID-19 cases in Pakistan surged to 184, Al jazeera reported.

At least as 134 of those reported to be infected are said to be those who had been held at a squalid quarantine camp in the country's Taftan border crossing with Iran.

"[The] total number of ppl affected by corona virus in Sindh has reached 146. Out of this, 119 are Zaireen [pilgrims] who are being kept in Sukkur, 26 are in Khi [Karachi] and 1 is in Hyd [Hyderabad]," Murtaza Wahab, a provincial government spokesman in Sindh, said in a tweet.

The spike in cases was attributed to the inflow of people from Taftan camp, a border town in southwestern Balochistan province, where Pakistan quarantined hundreds of pilgrims who returned from Iran.

According to reports, thousands of people quarantined were not adequately screened for coronavirus or treated for existing conditions. Several people complained of squalid living conditions at the quarantine facility.

Under current procedures followed in Pakistan, those released from the camp are being held for a further 14 days in their home provinces in separate quarantine facilities, where they will be tested if they display symptoms of the virus.

Since the outbreak of epidemic in Iran, more than 4,600 people have been held at the quarantine camp In Taftan. Of those, 1,822 had been released to their home districts on Friday, while several hundred remain at the camp, government data shows.

Islamabad announced that it is closing its borders with Iran and Afghanistan for two weeks from Monday (16 March) in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus. All education institutions across the country have been closed for three weeks.