Dharavi records zero fresh Covid-19 cases on six days in October

In comparison to Dharavi’s 50 fresh Covid cases in October, neighbouring Dadar recorded over 200 Covid-19 infections and Mahim registered over 130 cases

Dharavi, one of the largest slum pockets in the country which was hit badly during the first wave of Covid-19 infections last year, has made a remarkable comeback by recording zero fresh cases on six days in October and only one fresh case each on 13 days of the month, logging only 50 cases in all of October, down from 66 cases in September. September had five days when not even a single Covid case was registered in the Dharavi slums.

Huge crowd of Dharavi residents stand in a queue to get inoculated against Covid-19. (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO/File)

So far, Dharavi has recorded a total of 7,148 Covid-19 cases and has 21 active patients at present. The highest single day spike last month saw seven fresh Covid-19 cases registered on October 8.

In comparison, neighbouring Dadar recorded over 200 Covid-19 infections in October, and Mahim registered over 130 cases. So far, Dadar has recorded 10,379 Covid-19 cases including 88 active cases at present; and Mahim has recorded 10,692 infections with 89 active cases at present.

A senior civic officer said, “During the second wave, Dharavi recorded a spike in cases yet again, and we channelled efforts like mobile fever camps, ramped up testing and contact tracing to contain the spread”.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said the fact that it roped in NGOs (non governmental organisations) to help with registrations for vaccination of maximum residents in the early days of the drive in February, March and April, also helped.

In April, Dharavi recorded a total of 1,460 new Covid cases, with dropped to 349 in May and 70 in June before a slight rise to 77 cases in July before it dipped again to 47 in August. The infections rose again in September to reach 66 but dropped to 50 in October.