Sealed buildings, containment zones in slums in Mumbai drop since Sept

Number of sealed buildings falls from 10,871 on Sept 25 to 4,790 this month; BMC says 20K people being tested daily

Since September, when Mumbai recorded a peak in Covid-19 cases, the number of sealed buildings has reduced by 55% as fewer active cases have been reported.

The number of containment zones in slums has also reduced from 686 on September 25 to 407 in November. (HT FILE PHOTO)

There were 10,871 sealed buildings on September 25 and the number has come down to 4,790 in November. The number of containment zones in slums has also reduced from 686 on September 25 to 407 in November. The overall positivity rate of the city is at 15%.

In September, Mumbai saw a spike in Covid-19 cases, with the daily caseload going over 2,000 and the total number of active cases crossing 34,000.

Since the last week of October, daily caseload has come down sharply and the total number of active cases is around 14,000 at present.

Civic officials said fewer positive cases are being reported from high-rises. “It is likely that there are fewer cases in buildings, but we are regularly setting up testing camps in areas where the caseload is higher,” says Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner (health).

Assessing the cases in the past few weeks, Kakani added that even though the number of tests conducted daily had been scaled up to above 20,000, daily positive cases remained at around 1,000. In November, the positivity rate is 6% while the city’s overall positivity rate is 15%.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) focus is now on those returning to the city, particularly migrant workers who had left for their hometowns and villages in other states after the lockdown began in March.

As part of the survey under the state government’s ‘My Family, My Responsibility’ campaign, the municipal corporation had compiled a list of 12,000 homes in slum pockets that were reported as locked. These homes will now be revisited by civic officials and if anyone is found living in those homes, they will be made to undergo a health check-up and also a Covid-19 test, if necessary.