Pakistan's first coronavirus death exposes nation's vulnerability

FILE PHOTO: Police officers stand guard at a blocked road leading to Manga village after an outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Marden, Pakistan March 19, 2020. REUTERS/Abdul Sattar

PESHAWAR (Reuters) - When Saadat Khan, 50, returned to Pakistan on March 9 from a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, he was greeted in his village with a rousing welcome and a grand feast attended by more than 2,000 people, many of whom embraced him warmly.

On March 18, less than 10 days later, Khan died at an isolation centre for coronavirus patients in the northwestern city of Mardan. He died from COVID-19, the day his test results came back positive.