Dharavi Records Two New Coronavirus Cases, Total Count Now At Seven
The father and brother of a 30-year-old infected woman have tested positive for the coronavirus in Dharavi’s Dr Balliga Nagar.
Mumbai’s biggest slum reported two more Covid-19 cases, taking the tally to seven, as the pathogen spreads rapidly in an environment where people live close together.
Two men aged 80 and 49 years tested positive for the virus in Dharavi, Kiran Dighavkar, assistant commissioner in-charge of the G/North Ward in Central Mumbai, said. “They are father and brother of a 30-year-old woman who had tested positive on Saturday.”
The patients, including the 30-year-old woman, are residents of Dharavi’s Dr. Balliga Nagar area, which has so far seen four Covid-19 cases, including one death. The area was already sealed after a 56-year-old man died last week—the first death linked to the coronavirus pandemic in Dharavi. Further contact tracing of new cases is in progress, Dighavkar said.
Dr. Balliga Nagar area has a population of 2,500, while Dharavi—a sprawl of shanties spread over 240 hectares—has a population of 8.5 lakh and over 13,000 small businesses.
Total Cases In Dharavi So Far
- Cases in Dr. Baliga Nagar: Four—a 30-year-old woman, her father and brother tested positive and under-going treatment, besides one death.
- Cases in Dharavi Main Road: A 35-year-old doctor is undergoing treatment.
- Cases in Mukund Nagar Slum: A 48-year-old man is under treatment.
- Cases in 60 Feet Road: A 21-year-old male lab technician is under treatment.
- Besides, a municipal sweeper, who’s a resident of Worli but posted in Dharavi has tested positive and is under treatment.
“In one of the pro-active measures, BMC is setting up health camp in Dr. Baliga Nagar to take swabs of symptomatic contacts and send it for testing,” Dighavkar said. “The total population of Dr. Baliga Nagar is 2,500, including 132 senior citizens and 32 people with respiratory illness/cough/cold or fever.” Similar health camps will continue in places where positive cases have been found as well as in other densely populated areas of Dharavi, said Dighavkar.
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According to Maharashtra health ministry’s latest media bulletin, the state added 120 new cases of Covid-19 on Monday, taking the tally to 868. Total number of cases in Mumbai stands at 526.