Mumbai: BMC to test 7.5 lakh residents of Dharavi in next 15 days for COVID after 3 die

In the first mass testing move, Mumbai's municipal body (BMC), on Thursday, has chalked up a plan to test all 7.5 lakh residents in Asia's biggest slum - Dharavi within next 15 days, as per sources. Dharavi has already reported 17 cases from 9 different parts of the area - of which three have died. Mumbai has reported 79 cases and 9 deaths in the past 24 hours and has a total of 713 Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases.

Mumbai cops identify 10 Markaz attendees who briefly stayed in Dharavi & left for Kerala

Dharavi witnesses 3rd death

Earlier in the day, a 70-year-old from Kalyanawadi passed away after being infected with COVID-19. The previous fatalities were a 56-year old male who succumbed to the pandemic before he could be treated and another woman resident. Dharavi which is one of listed hotspots in Mumbai, also had 10 Markaz attendees stay in the locality before leaving for Kerala.

Sixth Coronavirus positive case reported in Mumbai's Dharavi as state's tally soars to 690

Dharavi under containment

After the first case was reported from Dharavi, BMC created several containment zones throughout the place, putting thousands of people under restrictions. With over 1 million people living in five square kilometer area, Dharavi is Mumbai's most densely populated area. Reports state that BMC has already set up a health camp and found 14 high risk and 74 low-risk contacts apart from 32 senior citizens who have been found symptomatic.

BMC shuts all vegetable & fruit shops in two wards after 'containment violation' by people

Maharashtra under lockdown

On March 14, the Thackeray government invoked the Epidemic Diseases Act declaring the Coronavirus as an epidemic - declaring all gyms, swimming pools, malls, theatres, pubs shut in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Nagpur, Pimpri-Chinchwad till March 31 amid the rising cases of Coronavirus. With the railways shutting down its services on March 22 marking 'Janta Curfew', the Maharashtra government extended a state-wide curfew, stopping all transport services across districts. After PM Modi announcing a 21-day lockdown, Maharashtra too enforced the same, witnessing the highest cases -1135, with 72 deaths.

Vashi's APMC market partially shut from April 11 over COVID-19 spread in Navi Mumbai