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Maharashtra
Mumbai: Dharavi Flattens COVID Curve Once Again
|The area recorded just 3 cases on May 26. As soon as cases started spiking in February, authorities got down to business and adopted the strategy they used last year to keep the virus at bay.
Infamously known as Asia's largest slum, Dharavi in Mumbai is home to more than 6.5 lakh people. In an area where 80 percent of the population depends on community toilets, the settlements are a mere 10*10 hutments with 8-10 people living in each household and narrow lanes with G+1, G+2, G+3 houses where the ground floor is a house and other floors are factories, the concept of social distancing is alien. Yet, despite all these challenges, it has been able to flatten the curve again.
On Wednesday, May 26, the area recorded only three cases, the lowest since February 11, reported Mumbai Mirror. Since the outbreak last year, the area has recorded 6,798 cases. Of these, 2,500 cases were recorded between March and April this year, reported The Indian Express. On December 25, 2020, there were zero cases reported from the area.
Screen, Test, And Isolate
During the first wave, the highest number of cases were recorded on May 3, 2020 (94 cases). Almost a year later, during the second wave, the highest number of cases were recorded on April 9, 2021 (99). Cases began peaking soon after the second wave hit around the middle of February, sparking serious concerns. Authorities got down to the task and adopted the same strategy that they used last year----screen, test, and isolate.
Also Read: Tracing, Tracking, Testing, Treating: How Mumbai's Dharavi Flattened COVID-19 Curve