Are number of coronavirus deaths in Pakistan being under-reported?

Karachi -- one of the largest cities in Pakistan -- has seen an unusual rise in the number of bodies being brought to hospitals and of patients dying due to "severe medical ailments" within a few hours of their arrival. This has been happening even as the COVID-19 pandemic is ravaging the entire world, forcing people to suspect all of these cases are coronavirus-related.

Pakistan so far has reported a total of 6,506 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 123 deaths, including over 40 in Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital.  

A report in the daily The News cited claims that more than 300 patients -- who were either dead on arrival (DOA) or extremely sick with “pneumonia-like symptoms” and died within hours of their arrival -- were brought to hospitals in Karachi in the past 15 days.

Authorities in these cases were not able to ascertain whether or not the patients had contracted coronavirus because relatives refused permission for doctors to carry out autopsies of the bodies.

The "most likely" causes of deaths ranged from chronic liver disease, multiple organ failure, cardiopulmonary arrest, pneumonia and even acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Another report said at least 121 dead people were brought to one of the biggest hospitals in the city and 99 others died within a couple of hours of their arrival at the hospital.

To this end, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said his suspicion was that many infections were simply going undetected.

The Sindh government has imposed a complete lockdown, while in Pakistan, including the national capital of Islamabad, a partial lockdown is in place.