Two more test positive in Dharavi
MUMBAI: Two more persons tested positive for coronavirus in Dharavi area on Wednesday, taking the total number of such cases in the densely-populated slum area of Mumbai to nine, a civic official said.
Among the new patients are a 25-year-old man from Mukund Nagar locality and a 35-year-old man from Dhanwada chawl, he said.
The patient from Mukund Nagar was a high risk contact of a 49-year-old man, who earlier tested positive for coronavirus, and was kept at a quarantine facility, he said.
“Contact tracing is underway in Dhanwada chawl (where another new case has been reported),” the official said, adding they are going to seal the area as per the protocol.
Dharavi is one of the biggest slums in Asia where nearly 15 lakh people live in small shanties, making it one of the most congested areas of the metropolis.
Separately, five people died of coronavirus in Pune in the last 12 hours, taking the toll in the district to 13, officials said.
Three of the deaths were reported from Sassoon General Hospital, and one each from Naidu Hospital and Nobel Hospital, a health official from the Pune Municipal Corporation said.
All these patients had some co-morbid health conditions, he said.
The number of Covid-19 positive cases shot up by 60 since Tuesday night, taking the total number of infectees from 1,018 to 1,078, as the number of death cases stood at 64, officials said here on Wednesday.
The highest increase was in
Mumbai with 44 new cases, increasing the total tally from 642 to 686, besides 40 deaths.
On Tuesday, Maharashtra recorded the highest single day new cases - 150 - with the death toll shooting to 64.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray urged people to use masks while going out of their homes and appealed to former defence health services personnel, retired medical staff to join the “war” against coronavirus.
In his address to the state via live webcast, Thackeray regretted the inconvenience caused to citizens due to the lockdown, but said “we don’t have any other option”.
Appealing citizens to stay safe during the coronavirus pandemic, he said, “People should inculcate a habit using homemade masks while stepping out of their homes to buy essentials now, and also later when the situation improves.”
Issuing a circular, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also warned of arrest under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for flouting its order.