3 wards in Mumbai have less than 100 active Covid-19 cases

Three of the 24 administrative wards in Mumbai corresponding to areas of Dahisar in the western suburbs, Marine Lines and Bhendi Bazar and Mohammad Ali Road area in south Mumbai have less than 100 active cases, according to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) daily Covid-19 report.

Three of the 24 administrative wards in Mumbai corresponding to areas of Dahisar in the western suburbs, Marine Lines and Bhendi Bazar and Mohammad Ali Road area in south Mumbai have less than 100 active cases, according to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) daily Covid-19 report.

Those with the highest active Covid-19 cases are K-West (Andheri) with 454 active cases, followed by R-Central (Borivli) with 334 active cases. Mumbai has 5,144 active cases as of Wednesday. (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

Those with the highest active Covid-19 cases are K-West (Andheri) with 454 active cases, followed by R-Central (Borivli) with 334 active cases. Mumbai has 5,144 active cases as of Wednesday.

While the B ward (Bhendi Bazar, Pydhoni, Mohammad Ali Road) has 37 active cases, the C ward (Marine Lines) has the lowest number of active cases – 32. Despite most wards in north Mumbai reporting a higher number of active cases, R-North ward, corresponding to Dahisar area, has 88 cases. In comparison, the other north Mumbai wards – R-South ward in Kandivli has 272 active cases, P-North ward in Malad has 176 active cases, P-South ward in Goregaon has 217 active cases, T ward of Mulund has 220 active cases, and S ward of Bhandup has 192 active cases.

R-North ward also has the lowest growth rate of 0.03%, while C ward has 0.04%. However, B ward has the second highest growth rate in Mumbai at 0.09%. Growth rate is calculated as the average of the increase in number of Covid-19 cases reported in the ward within the past seven days. Mumbai’s average growth rate at present is 0.06%.

B and C ward have routinely reported fewer cases and active cases since the beginning of the pandemic, and have been among wards with the lowest Covid-19 active cases since March last year. While B and C wards have a higher population density, they are smaller wards in comparison to north Mumbai’s administrative wards in terms of overall population. While B ward has a population of 127,290, C ward has a population of 166,161. R-North ward has a population of 431,368.

Bharat Torne, assistant commissioner of C ward, said, “This ward has had fewer Covid-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. The staff of the ward level health department has been diligent.”

A civic official from B ward said, “We have been following all quarantine, contact tracing and testing rules as decided by the civic body.”

About 60% of the area that comes under the jurisdiction of the R-North ward is slums. Mrudula Hande, assistant commissioner of the R-North ward, said, “We have tightened quarantine rules, and contact tracing efforts in our ward. While we trace an average of 15 high-risk contacts per positive case, we have been tracing upto 18 high-risk contacts per case within the past week. We have also been conducting an average of 400 to 600 Covid-19 tests per day. We conduct weekly analysis of cases, and if we see even a small spike in cases, we increase our testing and contact tracing efforts.”

Currently, there are 53 sealed floors in R-North ward, and one sealed building. In C ward, there are 14 sealed floors and no sealed buildings, and in B ward, there are 26 sealed floors and no sealed buildings. There are no containment zones across Mumbai, which are slums or chawls, as per BMC’s standard operating procedure. The civic body seals a building if it records more than five cases, and seals a floor if it records even one single Covid-19 case, according to the SOP.

A senior civic official from BMC’s health department said, “In case of wards with higher active covid-19 cases, we have to take into account clusters, where many cases are reported among high-risk contacts, and also the presence of Covid-19 hospitals within their jurisdiction.”