Amid a sharp spike in coronavirus cases in Mumbai, it has come to light that Dharavi has re-emerged as a point of concern. According to reports, Daharavi’s single 250-bed Covid care centre (CCC) in Vanita Samaj hall is now full.
Hence, the G-North Ward, comprising of Dharavi, Dadar and Mahim, officials decided to start two more CCCs to increase bed capacity to quarantine the local population, if cases continue to increase.
While most cases were limited to residential societies until February-end, March saw Dharavi registering a slow uptick. The slum saw less than a dozen active cases in February, which have risen to 180 now.
Two more CCCs are being set up at Vanmali Hall, Dadar, and Mahim Nature Park. Vanmali will have 100 beds to house mild and asymptomatic cases and the Mahim Nature Park will start with 200 beds, that can be scaled up to 1,200 beds. It will be operated as both a quarantine facility and an isolation centre.
According to sources, the number of COVID-19 patients in Dharavi, Dadar and Mahim has increased by 79 in the last 24 hours. In the BMC’s COVID-19 test drive at random places like malls, railway stations, state transport bus depots, tourist places and markets that started on March 22, seven people tested positive at Senapati Bapat Marg outside Dadar Station on first day.
Till Monday, March 22, 16 patients suffering from the coronavirus were registered in Dharavi, 29 in Dadar, 44 in Mahim. In May 2020, Dharavi had a large number of patients testing positive for COVID-19 due to which Dharavi was widely considered to be the hotspot for the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, the Dharavi vaccination centre received a lukewarm response on its first day with only 64 slum dwellers vaccinated against a target of 1,000.
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