Mumbai: A second coronavirus case was reported Thursday from Dharavi, which is considered Asia’s largest slum in less than 24 hours. This has sparked worries that the disease may spread quickly in the financial capital of the country. The 52-year-old man, a civic worker, lives in Worli but is posted in Dharavi.
It is apt to mention here that Wednesday a 56-year-old man from Dharavi tested positive for the highly contagious virus and died. More importantly he did not have any travel history. The man went to the hospital March 23 with symptoms of coronavirus. He was undergoing treatment, but did not survive. The man’s home in Dharavi has been sealed and seven other residents of the house have been home quarantined.
While talking to reporters Thursday in New Delhi, a Union Health Ministry official said that the deceased man’s contact tracing was being done in Dharavi and other places where he may gone.
The deceased, who had a garment shop also in Dharavi only, lived in a building constructed under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) scheme. There are 300 flats in the building, which has now been sealed.
Mumbai is among the virus hotspots identified by the country, with 181 cases and nine deaths. The total number of positive cases in Maharashtra is 335 with 16 people are dead.
More than a million people live in Dharavi, a five-square km slum comprising a maze of dirty lanes and cramped huts packed with large families. Over 70 per cent of the residents use community toilets.
Thickly populated zones like Dharavi are a huge challenge in efforts to enforce social distancing critical in checking coronavirus, which spreads easily from person to person.
Agencies