Third coronavirus case found in Mumbai's Dharavi

The death of a COVID-19 patient from Mumbai's Dharavi, known as one of the biggest slums in Asia, has exposed its residents to the vulnerability of contracting the viral infection and sparked a fear of its spread in the highly congested area. (PTI Photo)

A 35-year-old doctor who has a clinic on the main road in Dharavi area of Mumbai tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, a civic official said.

This is a third COVID-19 case where the patient has a connection with Dharavi, considered to be Asia's biggest slum with a high population density.

An official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said a doctor who had a clinic on Dharavi's main road and who was also attached as a surgeon to a prominent private hospital tested positive for the virus.

Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths

"The building where he lives will be quarantined and all high-risk contacts will be traced," the BMC official said.

The doctor did not have any travel history, but further details were being probed, he added.

On April 1, a 56-year-old garment shop owner living in a Slum Rehabilitation Authority building in Dharavi became the first person from the area to test positive for coronavirus. He died on the same evening.

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On Thursday morning a municipal sweeper who lived in Worli but was posted at Dharavi tested positive.

The BMC has already created containment zones where these two cases were found and restricted the movement of over 2,500 persons in these areas.