20% of city’s Covid cases reported in Kurla, Byculla, Andheri West

After G South (Worli) and G North (Dharavi) wards, three other administrative wards in the city have witnessed a sharp rise in the number of Covid-19 cases, with

After G South (Worli) and G North (Dharavi) wards, three other administrative wards in the city have witnessed a sharp rise in the number of Covid-19 cases, with the count in each ward inching closer towards the 1000-case mark. Among the 24 administrative wards in Mumbai, those including areas of Kurla, Byculla, and Andheri (West) account for 20% of the total cases in Mumbai. While the city’s count reached 12,689 as on Saturday, the cases in these three wards tallied up to 2,544.

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The E ward (Byculla-Mumbai Central) has reported a total of 945 cases and 77 deaths; L ward (Kurla-Sakinaka) has 807 cases and 61 deaths so far; K West ward, which covers Andheri West, Versova, Irla, Juhu, Oshiwara and parts of Jogeshwari, has reported 792 cases and 30 deaths in total.

These wards, which have dense slum populations, old buildings, and congested chawls, are likely to have witnessed a spike in the number of cases on Sunday as the city recorded 875 new Covid-19 cases, taking the total count to 13,564. The ward-wise break up of cases for Sunday is yet to be released.

The city also recorded 19 more deaths, crossing the 500-fatality mark. So far, the city has lost 508 people to the novel coronavirus.

E ward, covering areas like Madanpura, Mazagaon, and Nagpada, has a significant number of Mhada-owned cess buildings and several congested chawls. The number of cases in this ward jumped from 466 on April 25 (the last time BMC released ward-wise data) to 945 on May 10. Civic officials said that on average, 30-32 cases are reported in the ward daily. Prashant Gaikwad, assistant municipal commissioner of E ward (additional charge), said, “We have intensified lockdown measures, are conducting fever screening in door-to-door surveys and increased the testing capacity because of which more cases are being found. The number of cases in the ward is reaching its peak and shortly, it will stabilise and start decrea.”

However, local representatives say that the ward is being neglected by the authorities. Rais Shaikh, MLA from Bhiwandi and a corporator from Madanpura in Byculla, said, “It is utter chaos due to administrative mismanagement. The civic body is falling short on proper contact tracing and is responding slowly to symptomatic patients found in the ward. There have been cases where positive patients have not been isolated for days. This is a serious lapse and the authorities are not as bothered about the cases here as they are concerned for VIP areas.”

K West and L wards, which comprise dense slum pockets and congested areas, are also reporting a rise in the number of cases. Ranjeet Dhakane, deputy municipal commissioner of K West ward, said, “We are identifying symptomatic and suspected cases in slums and shifting them to quarantine centres as much as possible. We have formed teams of BMC officials, police, local representatives, and NGO workers, and deployed them in containment zones for strict observation of social distancing.”

Civic officials from these wards say that attempting to maintain social distancing in slum pockets is difficult. In the L ward, for instance, nearly 70% of its cases are from slum areas, an official confirmed. “The ward also has a significant number of migrant workers as several small-scale industries are housed here. We are providing food packets in these areas but the workers have no option but to step out to collect food. However, more than 400 health camps have been set up in the areas so far and fever screening is being conducted,” the official said.

Cases in the neighbouring wards of G south (Worli) and G North (Dharavi) have crossed the 1000-mark already. Dharavi has reported 1,087 cases and over 1,000 have tested positive in G South. Sharad Ughade, assistant municipal commissioner of G South ward, was unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile, of the 875 cases reported on Sunday, 197 had tested positive on May 7 and 8 but were added to the tally later. Of 19 deaths (10 men, 9 women) reported on Sunday, 13 patients had co-morbidities. One victim was below 40 years and five others were above 60 years; the remaining 13 victims were aged between 40 and 60 years.

BMC quarantines 331 Indians returning from London, Singapore

Indian nationals who landed in the city via two special flights on Saturday night and Sunday morning were quarantined at various hotels by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Of the 337 passengers who landed from London, 248 are from Mumbai, along with 53 from the Singapore flight. They will be quarantined for 14 days before they are allowed to go home. Another 33 travellers from the Singapore flight are from out of Maharashtra and have not received onward passes to travel home. They have been quarantined in Mumbai and if any of these passengers develop symptoms, they will be tested on the seventh or eighth day of their quarantine.

Passengers are paying between ₹1,500 and ₹4,500 per day for accommodation based on their choice of hotel.