With Dharavi recording average double-digit figures of Covid-19 infections for nearly a fortnight, the vaccination drive in this largest slum cluster of Asia is being accelerated.
For the Maharashtra government and the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation, the priority is to ensure that cases do not multiply in Dharavi like April-May last year.
On March 8, Dharavi reported 18 cases – the highest in a day since October 2020.Between March 9-15, the Dharavi locality has reported 77 cases. Last Saturday, it reported 17 cases, while on Monday, 14 new cases came to light.
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The total number of active patients in Dharavi also breached the 100-mark and as of now, there are 133 patients undergoing treatment. The progressive total in Dharavi stands at 4,258 cases, according to BMC.
Once a Covid hotspot, Dharavi, on an average, had been reporting single-digit infections till December 2020-January, 2021, but there has been a spike during February-March.
According to BMC officials from G/North ward that administers Dharavi, the cases are scattered and not concentrated in pockets.
“We have decided to speed up the vaccination drive in Dharavi and ensure that a large population is covered,” BMC officials said.
Spread over 2.1 sq km, Dharavi – sandwiched between Central and Western suburban railway lines of Mumbai -- is a sort of mini-India, with over 7 to 10 lakh people staying and working here. However, several of them have migrated back to their hometowns waiting for businesses to start in full swing.
The first Covid-19 positive case and death from Dharavi was reported on April 1, 2020, when a 56-year-old man died.
Throughout April and the first fortnight of May, the cases zoomed but then it was brought down in June-July.
In Dharavi, the BMC had adopted the 4Ts strategy - Tracing-Tracking-Testing-
The way the situation was contained, it came to be known as the 'Dharavi model' and also earned the praise of the World Health Organisation and the World Bank.
On December 25, Dharavi reported zero cases for the first time. It subsequently reported zero cases on January 22, 26, 27 and 21 and February 2 this year.