Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad on Tuesday, August 18, said that the civic body is implementing the Dharavi model to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the city.

‘We are implementing the Dharavi model where the target population is identified and aggressive testing is done to control the spread of Covid-19,’ Prasad was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express.

The BBMP Commissioner said that due to the strict isolation, aggressive testing and early identification of the target population in Dharavi, no new case has been reported from the slums, even as Mumbai continue to report new cases.

‘It is being replicated in Bengaluru now. Though cases will rise initially, it will help in controlling the spread of the virus and gradually help flatten the curve,’ he said.

‘The target population is primary and secondary contacts of positives, those in containment zones, inter-state and international travellers, ILI and SARI cases. Door-to-door survey is being done to identify people with comorbidities to track them early. This was done in Dharavi. In Mumbai soon after cases were reported, neighbours were immediately shifted to Covid Care Centres and tested,’ the Commissioner added.

He further said that the guidelines for containment zones were being redefined and that a set of revised guidelines and standards will be formed due to the rising instances of financial anomalies.

The Commissioner added that it was time citizens helped in controlling the spread of coronavirus and that they should help the government in ensuring that COVID-19 positive patients under home isolations are strictly adhering to the same.

He further said that only those patients with severe symptoms will be admitted to hospitals. Meanwhile, depending upon their health conditions, some patients will be admitted to Covid Care Centres.

Earlier, the Philippines government had announced its decision to adopt the Dharavi model of containing the outbreak.

‘The Philippines government will be following the Dharavi model for containing Covid-19 in densely populated slums of Philippines,’ BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said on August 18.

Also Read: Philippines To Adopt ‘Dharavi Model’ To Contain Spread Of COVID-19 In Slums: BMC Chief