Mumbai’s ‘Dharavi model’ helps tame second COVID-19 wave in slum town

After reporting as much as 99 COVID-19 instances each day in April, Mumbai’s slum colony of Dharavi has seen a gradual drop in single-day infections – beneath 5 – in the final couple of days with the tally of sufferers below therapy dropping to 50, marking a turnaround in the second wave.

The ‘Dharavi model’ of COVID-19 administration and the vaccination drive have helped in efficiently containing the second wave in the world, officers stated.

A gentle drop in coronavirus instances in Dharavi, a sprawling and congested shanty town which was as soon as a COVID-19 hotspot, has introduced large aid to the civic authorities in Mumbai.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officers stated the slum cluster, unfold throughout 2.5sqkm and positioned on the border of the island metropolis, reported three and 4 instances on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, whereas Mumbai continues to be witnessing every day coronavirus instances in 4 digits.

They stated Dharavi’s energetic instances have come down to simply 50 (6,398 of the overall 6,802 COVID-19 sufferers have recovered, whereas 354 have died).

This was in sharp distinction to the adjoining Dadar and Mahim areas, which have 204 and 254 energetic instances, respectively.

Since the outbreak of coronavirus in April 2020, the slum-dominated space has reported 354 deaths (until May 26). Of these, 42 fatalities have been recorded since February 7, 2021, the officers stated.

According to them, the on a regular basis COVID-19 instances in Dharavi began going up from mid-February, when Mumbai was hit by a second wave of the coronavirus an infection.

Cases in the slum-dominated space rose considerably in March and peaked in April, when it reported the very best single-day spike of 99 instances on April 8.

The sharp rise in every day infections pushed the civic authorities to as soon as once more fall again on the “Dharavi model” which concerned 4Ts – tracing, monitoring, testing and treating – a technique which was praised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) through the first wave of COVID-19.

“Despite a slow spread of the virus in December 2020 and early January 2021, we continued with comprehensive testing and tracking of cases in Dharavi,” stated Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner of G-North ward that homes Dharavi.

With the onset of the COVID-19 second wave in February 2021, the Dharavi Model was activated once more to stem the unfold of the an infection, he stated.

“Door-to-door screening of people with symptoms, aggressive testing, regular screening and testing of Dharavi residents who work in different parts of Mumbai, including delivery personnel, industrial workers, helped to control the spread of the pandemic,” Mr. Dighavkar stated.

Dharavi has a inhabitants of 6.5 lakh, which suggests 2,27,136 individuals dwelling per sq km. Social distancing was subsequent to not possible in Dharavi, the place households of eight to 10 individuals stay in 10×10 hutments.

Apart from congested slum pockets, Dharavi is dwelling to a number of small-scale leather-based, pottery and textile manufacturing items.

The space has 5,000 GST-registered enterprises, 15,000 single-room factories and is a hub of worldwide exports with an annual turnover of $1 billion, based on BMC information.

In Dharavi, the primary COVID-19 affected person was discovered on April 1, 2020, about 20 days after Mumbai reported its first COVID-19 case.

Thereafter, the every day COVID-19 instances rose sharply and the world was declared a ‘COVID-19 hotspot’.

With a proactive screening of residents with the help of personal medical doctors and group help, the native physique managed to flatten the COVID-19 curve final 12 months.

According to a BMC official, the largest problem was to keep up hygiene as 80% of the inhabitants depends on 450 group bogs.

Hence, the civic physique focussed on cleansing these bogs thrice a day to regulate the unfold of COVID-19, he stated.

Mr. Dighavkar stated despite the fact that the second wave has eased, the BMC was going to proceed screening and testing of individuals by way of 11 fever clinics and cellular testing items in anticipation of a 3rd wave of the an infection.

“We will not let our guards down even though the cases have dropped. We are going to continue aggressive screening and testing until Dharavi reports zero cases,” Mr. Dighavkar stated.

The focus will proceed to be on vaccination in Dharavi the place 27,000 individuals have been inoculated in opposition to COVID-19 thus far, he added.