Mumbai’s Dharavi crosses 500 mark, sees highest single-day jump of 94 in Covid-19 cases

The first case in Dharavi was reported on April 1, after which the cases crossed the 100 mark on April 17, 200 mark on April 24, 250 cases on April 26 and 300 cases on April 28. The toll doubled from 10 deaths by April 17 to 20 deaths as of May 3.

Dharavi, India’s largest slum cluster and one of Mumbai’s hotspots of Covid-19, crossed the 500 mark with 94 new cases – the highest single-day jump in the area – on Sunday bringing its total to 590. The toll stands at 20, with two more deaths on Sunday.

The city on Sunday saw 441 cases, which took the count to 8,800 from 8,359 on Saturday. The death count went up to 342 on Sunday with 21 new deaths. (HT Photo)

The first case in Dharavi was reported on April 1, after which the cases crossed the 100 mark on April 17, 200 mark on April 24, 250 cases on April 26 and 300 cases on April 28. The toll doubled from 10 deaths by April 17 to 20 deaths as of May 3.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said pro-active screening of residents is leading to the rise in numbers. Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner, G-North ward, which covers Dharavi, said, “We are screening at various sources such as municipal dispensaries, 350 clinics of private doctors and tracing high-risk contacts. We have successfully screened more than 79,000 people in Dharavi, which is around 2,500 per week.”

Elaborating on the efforts, he said, “We have institutionally quarantined 2,050 people at Dharavi Municipal School, Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex, Manohar Joshi Vidyalaya and Mahim Nature Park.”

An officer from Dharavi, who was associated with the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB), tested positive on Sunday. According to MFB, he is asymptomatic, and his family has been home quaratined followed by sanitisation of the first floor of Dharavi fire station. Prabhat Rahangdale, chief fire officer of MFB, said, “As per the protocol, all precautions have been taken. The Dharavi fire station is completely operational.”

The city on Sunday saw 441 cases, which took the count to 8,800 from 8,359 on Saturday. The death count went up to 342 on Sunday with 21 new deaths.

Meanwhile, two new deaths were reported in Mahim and Dadar area on Sunday, the neighbouring areas of Dharavi. Mahim reported 16 new cases on Sunday, taking the total to 68, followed by four new cases in Dadar, which took the total to 50.

A 49-year-old employee of the BMC working as a supervisor in the solid waste management (SWM) department was died of coronavirus on Sunday. The employee was a resident of Dadar and used to reside in staff quarters. The employee was admitted in Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Parel.

On Sunday, an employee of BEST died at KEM Hospital. He was not reporting to work since April 22 owing to an illness, and was detected of coronavirus on May 1. The employee had high blood pressure, according to BEST. In a statement issued on Sunday, BEST said that it has examined around 8,865 employees, more than 5,000 employees have been given vitamin tablets, 1,500 high-risk employees have been asked to stay home or given indoor duties. At least 400 BEST employees have been asked to home quarantine, and 36 have been reported positive.

According to the BMC, there are 1,577 containment zones in the city, of which 533 are in red zone, 633 in blue and 359 in orange zone. On Sunday, municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi met all assistant municipal commissioners and deputy municipal commissioners. The meeting was also attended briefly by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray via video conference, and all BMC officials were asked to concentrate and focus on contact-tracing. The BMC officials were also asked to keep proper records of contact tracing, and travel history of the positive patients. The officers were also asked to follow-up with those recovering.