DHARAVI IS ON CORONA RADAR

First death from Asia’s largest slum; 191 areas or buildings across city are now deemed ‘contaminated.’

Even as the BMC has intensified its battle against the rapid spread of coronavirus in the city, sealing off affected areas completely, a case reported from Dharavi is causing serious concern.

The first coronavirus patient to be reported from the area, a 56-yearld man from Dharavi's Shahu Nagar with no recent travel history, succumbed to the disease on Wednesday night.

A garment shop owner in Dharavi, he had a fever, cold and cough since March 23. However, he kept visiting a local general practitioner in the area and was on general medication.

Neither the GP, nor the deceased, took serious note of the symptoms. On March 28, only after his health deteriorated, was he taken to Sion Hospital, where he was undergoing treatment since.

While Dharavi is infamous globally as Asia's largest slum, the man lived in a building and not in one of the slum shanties.

However, chances of him infecting many in the locality and outside are very high, given that he ran a garment shop in the area and regularly met people.

"There is nothing to panic. We have sealed the area and nobody is allowed to go out of the building. We are tracing the man's contacts on a war footing. We will ensure the spread is contained. His family is under observation and we are awaiting their lab test results," said Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner of G (North) ward.

The civic body on Wednesday shifted the man’s family -- four daughters, two sons and his wife -- to a quarantine facility and have also put the GP under home quarantine as a routine procedure. A team of BMC and police personnel has cordoned off the building, which has 300 flats and 91 shops, and sealed it completely by declaring it a 'containment zone'.

While the BMC's health investigators were trying to trace those the man came in contact with since March 23, the task has become an onerous one following his death.

Containment Zones: Meanwhile, the BMC has so far sealed around 191 areas or buildings across the city and declared them ‘containment zones.’ Containment Zones are pockets that are considered contaminated areas after a positive case of covid-19 is reported. People living within the sealed area are not allowed to go out of the zone, nor are people from outside allowed to enter.

Till Wednesday, M (west) ward (Chembur, Deonar) had the maximum number of containment zones, with 21 places sealed. This was followed by E ward (Byculla) with 20, and N ward (Ghatkopar and Vikhroli west) with 14 containment zones.

The civic body will continue the exercise in its effort to contain the spread of the infection, officials said.