More COVID-19 Cases in Mumbai’s Dharavi, Total Tally Now at 13

A 64-year-old COVID-19 male patient from Dharavi died during treatment on Wednesday, civic officials said.

An aerial look at the DR Baliga Nagar slum in Dharavi.

(Photo: PTI)

With six persons testing positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, 8 April, the count of infected persons in Dharavi, the densely-populated slum area of Mumbai, rose to 13, civic officials said, PTI reported.

A 64-year-old COVID-19 male patient from Dharavi died during treatment on Wednesday, taking the number of such victims from the slum to two, they said.

"The deceased was a resident of Social Nagar in Dharavi. He died at KEM hospital, where he was admitted on 7 April following complaints of fever, cough and breathlessness," a civic official said. He was suffering from diabetes, hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in a release.

Three residents of Dharavi had tested positive for coronavirus earlier in the day. One of the patients among them is a 50-year-old MICU cleaning staff who is posted at KEM hospital. The woman is a resident of Muslim Nagar in Dharavi.

Two other cases are that of a 25-year-old man from Mukund Nagar locality and a 35-year-old man from Dhanwada chawl. The patient from Mukund Nagar was reportedly a high-risk contact of a 49-year-old man, who earlier tested positive for coronavirus, and was kept at a quarantine facility.

4 Cases From Dr Baliga Nagar

The first COVID-19 case in Dharavi had emerged from Dr Baliga Nagar and since then, three more cases have been recorded in the area. The first patient, a 56-year-old garment shop owner, died on 1 April, just two days after he tested positive for COVID-19. The man had allegedly hosted at least 10 people who had attended the Tableeghi Jamaat meeting in Delhi in March, at his residence.

Since then, three more people have tested positive in the area, a 30-year-old woman, her 49-year-old brother and 80-year-old father who were high risk contacts. All the three are undergoing treatment.

The BMC sealed off Dr Baliga Nagar soon after the first case was detected. At least 380 flats are a part of the containment zone in the area.

Cases in Other Parts of Dharavi

Other cases recorded in Dharavi are that of a 35-year-old doctor who is undergoing treatment, and a 49-year-old man from the Mukund Nagar slum.

A 21-year-old lab technician was also found COVID-19 positive as also a municipal sweeper who is a resident of Worli but was posted in Dharavi when he tested positive.

Four high risk cases out of the 10 are being shifted to Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex in Mumbai.

With a population of 1.5 million people, Dharavi is Asia’s largest slum. Containment of COVID-19 in an area this densely packed has turned out to be a massive challenge for the civic body.

(With inputs from PTI)