Pakistan seeks to control spread of virus from Iran
Pakistan kept its border open with Iran, a COVID-19 hotspot, perhaps longer than it should have and is now screening thousands of its citizens returning from pilgrimages for the new coronavirus.
As of March 12, Pakistan had reported just 21 coronavirus cases of the new coronavirus, but the country’s shared border and trade activity with Iran has officials concerned as a number of the Pakistanis who have been infected had traveled to Iran.
Iran reported March 12 that its official number of COVID-19 cases had jumped by 1,075 over 24 hours to reach 10,075, with 429 deaths. Iran was one of the first countries to report an outbreak, possibly because of its strong trade links with China, the epicenter.
