42 new cases bring Dharavi’s count to 330; toll touches 18

A growing hotspot for Covid-19 cases, Dharavi recorded four new deaths and 42 new positive cases on Tuesday, the highest number of cases recorded in the area in

A growing hotspot for Covid-19 cases, Dharavi recorded four new deaths and 42 new positive cases on Tuesday, the highest number of cases recorded in the area in a day.

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Of the 42 new cases, 30 were already quarantined by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), while the rest were directly reported at the BMC hospitals. The total number of cases in Dharavi have crossed the 300 mark with the total reaching 330 positive cases so far. So far, there have been 18 deaths in the area due to Covid-19.

Among the four people who died on Tuesday, a 60-year-old male and 60-year-old female died at Sion Hospital and a 48-year-old male and a 55-year-old male were reported to be dead at KEM Hospital. Of the 330 positive cases, 104 were already quarantined by the BMC, 98 have been found through screening and 128 have directly reported to the hospitals.

After no new cases were reported for three consecutive days in Dadar and Mahim, four new cases were found in Dadar and five new cases were reported in Mahim on Tuesday. The total number of cases in Dadar has reached 33 so far whereas a total of 30 cases have been reported in Mahim.

Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner of G North (Dharavi, Dadar and Mahim), said, “Majority of the people who are found to be positive are already quarantined by the BMC. This is because of our focused approach by screening and testing through multiple sources. We are doing door-to-door surveys, screening people in private clinics and immediate isolation of high-risk contacts and its a result of that.”

As per BMC’s data, 1,530 tests have been conducted in Dharavi alone and nearly 61,500 people have been screened. The civic body claims to have conducted a door to door survey of 47,500 people, 2000 people have been screened in fever camps, 5,500 people have been screened in private clinics and 6,500 people in municipal dispensaries. While screening involves checking a patient for all possible symptoms of the Covid-19, testing involves the collection of swab samples that are later sent to the labs.

As of Tuesday, about 2,100 people have been advised to be home quarantined in Dharavi and 1,857 people have been admitted in institutional quarantines.