Two Mumbai localities with dense population — Dharavi and Worli — which emerged as major coronavirus hotspots in the city, on Monday saw a drop in their daily tally. Dharavi, which is one of the largest slums in Asia, reported nearly 1,400 COVID-19 cases in May, or a whopping jump of about 380 per cent from the April figures, adding to concerns of its residents.
The rate of infection in Worli, which reached an average of 60-62 in May, has now come down to 35 to 40. According to a report in Hindustan Times, average new cases in Dharavi have come down from 47 in May to 27 in June. The growth rates of Worli and Dharavi has come down to 1.9% and 1.7%, respectively, which are among the lowest in the city.
In April, 369 coronavirus cases were reported from Dharavi and the number rose to 1,771 by May-end, accounting for 4.4 per cent of the total COVID-19 cases detected in the city and indicating the extent and intensity with which the infection spread in the slum pocket.
Along with the high number of COVID-19 cases, Dharavi also reported 70 deaths due to the disease till May end, as compared to 18 deaths in April.
The cases were reported from Matunga Labour camp, 90-feet road, 60-feet road, Kumbharwada, Transit Camp, Cross Road, Naik Nagar and some other localities in Dharavi, he said.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) recently claimed that situation in Dharavi has improved, and the spread of infection is under control in the slum area, where nearly 6.5 lakh people live in shanties located in congested settlements.
The COVID-19 outbreak was reported in Mumbai on March 11, and the first case of the disease was found in Dharavi's Dr Baliga Nagar area 20 days later, on April 1, setting the alarm bells ringing for the city administration.
The disease spread was initially slow in the area and it took over a fortnight for Dharavi to add 100 cases to its tally, and by May 3, it crossed the 500-mark.
Thereafter, COVID-19 cases went on increasing rapidly and in next 10 days, the number crossed the 1,000-mark on May 13 and 1,500-mark on May 23, as per official figures. However, according to BMC officials, there has been a steady decline in the number of COVID-19 cases in Dharavi since May end. They said 18 new cases each were recorded on May 28 and May 30.
Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai mounted by 1,314 to 49,863 on Monday while 64 more people succumbed to the infection, taking the overall fatality count to 1,700, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
As per the Maharashtra government, the number of fatalities in the city stood at 1,702 and the cases at 50,085. Of the 64 deaths, 43 patients had co-morbidities, the BMC said.
A total of 842 people were discharged after recovery, taking the total number of such cases to 22,038, it stated.
As per the civic body, the overall COVID-19 case count in the city stood at 49,863. The number of active patients stood at 26,125 and fatalities at 1,700, the BMC added.
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