The positivity rate of the city has dropped. However, western suburbs have continued to record a high number of active cases post-Diwali. According to the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) data, 48 per cent of Mumbai’s active cases are from the western suburbs. The highest count has been recorded in Borivali, followed by Andheri, Kandivali, Malad, Goregaon, Dahisar and Bandra. Civic officials have attributed this to the ease in the lockdown and increased testing in westerns suburbs.
As per the BMC data, R-Central ward, which covers Borivali, has the highest case count and the number of active cases in any ward. R-Central registered 18,087 cases as of December 4, of which 1,176 are active, followed by K-West ward (Jogeshwari West, Oshiwara and Andheri West) with 1,088 active cases; R-South ward (Kandivali) with 1,000 active cases; K-East ward (Jogeshwari East, Andheri East and Vile Parle East) with 963 active cases, P-North (Malad) with 918 active cases and P-South (Goregaon) with 777 active cases. R-North (Dahisar) recorded 525 active cases; H-West (Bandra West, Santacruz West and Khar West) recorded 627 cases and H-East (Bandra East, Bandra Kurla Complex and Santacruz East) recorded 472 active cases.
Senior health officials said the surge in active cases is due to the lockdown relaxation and most of the floating population is from the western suburbs. The spread of the virus in these areas is high compared to other parts of the city. “COVID-19 testing in the western suburbs is highest compared to other wards of the city. Moreover, we also have many citizens getting tested voluntarily due to which active cases are more in these wards,” he said. However, wards covering areas like Charni Road, Marine Lines, Kalbadevi, Colaba and Churchgate have the lowest number of active cases.
One hot spot that has shown signs of drastic improvement – Dharavi – recorded only nine new COVID-19 cases on Monday. Dharavi’s tally is 3,692 cases, of which 3,361 have been discharged. “The spread of infection may be greater in the western suburbs as large trading communities reside there, with many locals travelling daily since the unlocking,” said city-based Dr Siddarth Paliwal.
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