Covid-19 strikes Dharavi, 56-year old is first casualty in Asia’s largest slum

MUMBAI: Dharavi, Asia's largest slum located in Mumbai, today reported its first death from covid-19. The victim, a 56-year-old man, had showed symptoms like fever, cough, respiratory issues and had co-morbid condition of renal failure. He had no travel history, according to a senior municipal official.

A resident of Dr Baliga Nagar, slum rehabilitation society in Dharavi, he was moved to Sion Hospital after complaining of fever on 23 March.

"Since he does not have a travel history, we are tracing his contact history. Covid-19 was detected as he felt unwell and was moved to Sion hospital. Seven of his family members have been put in quarantine and their test reports are awaited. The slum rehabilitation building he stayed in has been sealed," the official added.

The victim's society has around 300 flats and 90 shops which have been sealed.

Detection of covid-19 in Dharavi is a cause of concern for the government as Dharavi is a cramped and densely populated area in Mumbai with over 1 million people, spread over 535 acres. "We have been taking all precautions that case doesn't spread in the area,” the official added.

According to the public health department of Maharashtra, out of 7,126 laboratory samples, 6,456 were negative and 335 have tested positive for coronavirus until today, making the state the worst affected by the pandemic. There have been 14 casualties so far. The disease first broke in China in December.

Thirty-three new covid-19 cases were reported today in the state. Out of these, 30 are from Mumbai, two from Pune and one from Buldhana. Mumbai alone has reported 181 cases and 9 deaths.

Forty-one patients have been discharged till date after full recovery and 24,818 people are in home quarantine and 1,828 in institutional quarantine.

"As a preventive measure and control preparedness of novel coronavirus disease, isolation wards have been created in all district hospitals and government medical colleges in the state," the state’s health department said in a press statement.