For the first time since the latest surge in coronavirus cases began in Mumbai, the slum-dominated Dharavi area of the metropolis on Friday recorded no new infections, a civic official said. Kiran Dighavkar, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, G- North ward, said new cases fell to zero in the densely-populated area after 39 days. It had recorded zero cases last on December 20, 2021.
The area now has 43 active cases, 11 of them hospitalized, Dighavkar added. Dharavi’s coronavirus caseload is 8,581, of whom 8,121 have recovered. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation does not publish the number of deaths from the area.
It had logged a record 150 new cases on January 6, 2022, before the numbers started dipping. Dharavi, teeming with shanties and micro-industrial units over 2.5 sq km area, has a population of around 6.5 lakh.
Meanwhile, the Thane district of Maharashtra reported 1,079 new coronavirus positive cases, which took its infection count to 6,99,961, while the death of eight patients pushed to toll to 11,759, an official said on Saturday. These cases and fatalities were reported on Friday, he said.
Thane's COVID-19 mortality rate is 1.67 per cent. In neighbouring Palghar district, the caseload stood at 1,61,552 and the death toll at 3,369, another official said.
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