Published 18:32 IST, April 17th 2020
Dharavi's COVID-19 tally crosses 100, 10 dead amid BMC's wide-spread screening
As the cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) surge in Mumbai, the city's biggest slum area, on Friday, has added 15 new cases- taking its tally to 101 with 10 dead
As the cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) surge in Mumbai, the city's biggest slum area, on Friday, has added 15 new cases- taking its tally to 101. The cases were from areas like - Muslim Nagar (4), Matunga labour camp (3), Indira Nagar (3), Laxmi Chawl (1), Janta society (1), Sarvodaya society (1) and Social Nagar (2) with one 62-year-old male succumbing to COVID-19. Dharavi has seen 10 deaths till date, from 23 different areas.
Dharavi screening begins
On Saturday, the city's Municipal body - BMC started screening all 7.5 lakh residents of the area for COVID-19. The BMC has roped in a team of 150 doctors to help their workers in the process. Dharavi which is one of the listed hotspots in Mumbai, also had 10 Markaz attendees stay in the locality before leaving for Kerala. BMC has set up 438 containment zones throughout Mumbai since the rise in the number of cases.
Dharavi and COVID-19
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. Mumbai currently has 2043 cases and 116 deaths - as of Thursday.
The area's first fatality was a 56-year old male who succumbed to the pandemic before he could be treated. Since then the number of cases have increased rapidly in the area. BMC has currently set up several health camps inside the area and are monitoring high-risk patients.
Maharashtra lockdown extended till April 30
Prior to PM Modi's announcement extending the lockdown till May 3, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, announced that lockdown will be extended in Maharashtra at least till April 30. Moreover, he added that while it is possible for the government to lift the lockdown in certain places, lockdown in major areas like Mumbai will continue and on a stricter level. He warned people to maintain social distancing to avoid another extension of the lockdown. Currently, Maharashtra tops all states in India with 3205 cases and 194 deaths.
Updated 18:32 IST, April 17th 2020