BMC Seals Worli Koliwada, 4 Other COVID-19 Hotspots in Mumbai

Localities sealed to contain the virus are in Worli, Prabhadevi, Kalina, Goregaon, Kandivali and Ghatkopar.

Worli Koliwada has been barricaded. 

Photo: The Quint/Rounak Kukde

In a bid to curtail the spread of COVID-19 in Mumbai, the BMC on Tuesday, 31 March, sealed five localities in the city, including Worli Koliwada, a slum in Prabhadevi, Jamlipada in Kalina, Bimbisar Nagar in Goregaon, Lokhandwala in Kandivali and Neelkanth apartment in Ghatkopar.

Mumbai Police have barricaded these areas and locals have been instructed to remain inside their homes as the areas are being fumigated and sanitised. BMC has begun screening people living in these five areas on war footing. Details of every individual are being taken down for contact tracing.

Worli Koliwada Worst-Hit

With at least 11 people testing positive for coronavirus, Worli Koliwada area is one of the worst-affected areas in the city, prompting the civic body to seal the entire locality. At least 30,00 people who reportedly live in this area have been confined to their homes. 

None of the 11 patients who have tested positive from here have any travel history. Health officials are yet to affirm whether they have caught the virus through close contact.

On Wednesday, the BMC went door to door distributing essential items like groceries, milk and LPG cylinders to the residents.

LPG cylinders being taken to the homes of Worli Koliwada residentsPhoto: The Quint/Rounak Kukde

A slum in Prabhadevi, which is close to Worli has also been sealed by the police after a 65-year-old woman, who ran a mess, tested positive for coronavirus. Since then, 12 other people have tested positive in the area. They have been admitted to Kasturba Hospital. Residents living in buildings located next to the slum are also being screened and tested.

Efforts are on to disinfect and sanitise the entire locality.

Other areas that have been sealed include, Kalina’s Jamlipada area where five people have tested positive. The first person to test positive in Kalina had travelled to Italy. A doctor and five other people who were in close contact with the patient have tested positive.

BMC officials making announcements at an area that has been sealedPhoto: The Quint/Rounak Kukde

A society in Goregaon’s Bimbisarnagar too has recorded three COVID-19 cases. Eight buildings consisting of 300 flats have been sealed in the area. 

The two other locations that have been sealed are Lokhandwala in Kandivali and Neelkanth Apartment in Ghatkopar where two people have tested positive, each.