Dharavi records zero Covid cases again, fourth time since second wave hit city

Dharavi has recorded no new Covid-19 cases for the fourth time since February 11, when the second wave of the pandemic hit the city, this year. Earlier, for two days in a row — June 14 and 15, and on June 23, the slum-dominated area did not record any Covid-19 case.

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the area has reported 6,901 cases since last year’s Covid-19 outbreak. Of the total, nearly 2,900 new cases were recorded in the second wave that began in February in the city.

In March, Dharavi was averaging 50 cases daily. By March 23, a single 250-bed quarantine centre in Vanita Samaj hall was fully occupied and the BMC started two more quarantine centres to increase bed capacity for Dharavi residents.

As of Sunday, there are only 22 active cases in Dharavi. The BMC has also shut its quarantine centres in the area. A community centre converted into a quarantine facility in the Dadar area is currently in use.

Since May 10, Dharavi has been witnessing a daily drop in the cases. And since May 26, the cases from the slum-dominated area have been recorded below 10.

Just before the second wave, on February 2, no new infection was recorded from Dharavi.

Dharavi became known for successfully controlling the number of daily cases during the first wave. The number of daily cases were below 30 after September 2020, with no new cases reported within a period of 24 hours on six occasions — once in December last year, on four days in January and once in February this year.

However, the Ward officer’s decision not to discontinue the fever clinics in the area helped screen and isolate the slum population. Following the second wave, Dharavi, too, started recording a spike in Covid cases. On April 8, the highest single-day increase was recorded at 99.

Until June, 47 deaths have been recorded since February 2021. The total number of deaths reported from the area is 359.