Published 18:13 IST, June 8th 2020
Fall in COVID cases, no deaths since May 30: Dharavi heading to flattening of the curve?
Asia's largest slum Dharavi has seen a reduction in the growth of active COVID-19 cases and deaths. No new deaths have been reported there since May 30.
In a positive development, Asia's largest slum Dharavi has seen a reduction in the growth of active COVID-19 cases and deaths, according to BMC's data. Since the first case was reported in Dharavi on April 1, it emerged as a major COVID-19 hotspot in Mumbai. There are 1912 novel coronavirus cases in Dharavi out of which 939 persons have recovered until now.
Most importantly, not a single COVID-19 death has been recorded in the slum since May 30. Only 13 cases were reported on June 7 as compared to 34 cases on June 1. Moreover, 23, 17, and 10 COVID-19 cases were recorded in Dharavi on June 4, 5, and 6 respectively.
'Aggressive screening in Dharavi'
According to BMC Assistant Municipal Commissioner of G North Ward Kiran Dighavkar, aggressive testing and setting up of fever clinics helped in tackling the COVID-19 challenge in the area. He mentioned that door to door screening of 6 to 7 lakh people had been conducted. The BMC Assistant Municipal Commissioner added that the focus was on screening a maximum number of people for symptoms, isolating them, and testing them proactively.
Kiran Dighavkar remarked, "The aggressive screening in Dharavi area has helped in lowering the positive cases. Nearly 6 to 7 lakh people have been screened home to home by BMC health workers, private clinic doctors, mobile van, Municipal dispensary, etc." He added, “With the help of fever clinics, we could identify the people showing symptoms similar to that of coronavirus infection. We isolated them immediately which helped in either containing further transmission of the virus or spreading any kind of infection from those who are feeling unwell."
Dharavi is home to a large number of small-scale industries. Some officials have attributed the fall in cases to the large scale exodus of migrant workers during the nationwide lockdown. They stressed that this helped in ensuring social distancing to some extent.
1421 new cases in Mumbai
With 1421 new novel coronavirus cases being reported in Mumbai on June 7 till 6 pm, the city's COVID-19 tally surged to 48,549. There are 25,717 active COVID-19 patients currently. The number of recovered rose to 21,196 after 1218 individuals were discharged in the day. 61 deaths were reported in Maharashtra's capital propelling the city's death toll to 1636. 46 of the aforesaid deceased had co-morbidities.
(With agency inputs)
Updated 18:13 IST, June 8th 2020