Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday said that the peak of COVID-19 cases will rise at the end of May or at the beginning of June in Pakistan.

He said that due to an expansion in testing capacity, 2,000 Pakistanis were repatriated and more than 6,000 will be brought back soon.

“The situation will become clearer with the increase in the ratio of coronavirus tests,” he added.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi further added that the country stood on a difficult crossroad where it has to create and intricate balance between stopping the virus from spreading along with caring for its poor who may face life and death circumstances due to lack of economic activity.

He also said that Pakistan being a third world country could not observe a full lockdown due to the economic implications it would incur.

The foreign minister also added that efforts were underway to bring all those willing to fly back to their native land, back to Pakistan.