Covid-19: As Dharavi inches towards 900-mark, civic authorities plan special hospital for area

Maharashtra registered its highest one-day toll of 53 Covid-19 deaths on Sunday, which took the toll to 832.

The Dharavi slum continues to be a major Covid-19 hotspot in Mumbai, recording 26 new cases on Sunday. With this, the total number of Covid-19 patients in Dharavi rose to 859.

Doctors and civic officials check the residents of Dharavi in Mumbai for Covid-19 disease, on Sunday. (Pramod Thakur/HT Photo)

Twenty nine people have died of the disease till now, authorities said.

Taking the rising number of cases in Dharavi into account, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to start a 100-bed hospital at the Urban Health Training Centre (UHTC), a branch of the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital or Sion hospital, to cater to Covid-19 patients in the area.

Being the nearest municipal medical facility to Dharavi, Sion hospital receives a large number of patients from the area. Many Covid-19 patients are brought to the hospital at a later stage, when they are in critical condition. The new isolation facility in the area could help save more patients.

Maharashtra on Sunday recorded 1,278 new cases of coronavirus disease on Sunday, its highest in a single day till date. This took the state’s one-day tally to close to 2,000 cases.

Maharashtra also registered its highest one-day toll of 53 Covid-19 deaths on Sunday, which took the toll to 832.

Mumbai crossed the 500-mark for Covid-19 fatalities as it recorded 19 deaths, taking its toll to 508. Total cases in Mumbai now stand at 13,739. Pune recorded 402 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, taking its count to 2,377.

Maharashtra has recorded over 50% of its toll in the past 12 days. According to the data of the Medical Education and Drug Department (MEDD), out of the 832 Covid-19 victims in the state, 432 or 51.92% of deaths were recorded between April 29 and May 10.

Even as the mortality rate has reduced drastically from 7.12% on April 12 to 3.85% on May 9, the toll continued to rise. The Union health ministry, too, has expressed concern over the deaths in Maharashtra.