Dharavi: Covid curve flattened but 4 high-risk zones still on watchlist

Even though Mumbai’s Dharavi has succeeded in flattening the COVID-19 curve, four densely populated pockets in the slum area are still on the city’s civic body’s watchlist, reported Hindustan Times.

The Matunga Labour Camp, Kumbharwada, Kala Killa, and Koliwada are densely populated and could easily spiral out control, the report quoted an official of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as saying. Therefore, the BMC continues monitoring it.

A total of eight fresh cases were reported on Friday and Saturday combined from Dharavi, which is one of the largest slums in Asia.

An assistant commissioner having jurisdiction over the slum area said that of the few cases being reported nowadays are mostly migrant labourers who’ve returned or medical staff.

The BMC had identified 13 high-risk zones for focussed interventions in the city when cases had peaked in Dharavi around May-June; these four pockets were among those. In these zones, door-to-door surveys and maximum screening were conducted to identify those at high risk.

Currently, Dharavi’s average doubling rate is 406 days as against 18 in April, the report said. The recovery rate now stands at 87%, higher than that of Mumbai’s 80.79%.

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