VIRUS HITS ANOTHER SLUM IN BHAYANDAR

After spreading tentacles in hutment areas like- Ganesh Deval Nagar, Dr. Ambedkar Nagar and Kranti Nagar, the deadly coronavirus has now raised its ugly head in Jai Ambe Nagar- a sprawling slum settlement in Bhayandar (West). This at a time when the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) is already staring at an alarming rise in the number of positive Covid-19 cases which are unlinked and are constantly reported from new localities in the twin-city.

A 23-year-old woman tested positive in Jai Amber Nagar which is amongst the 14 slum settlements in the twin-city and home to more than three lakh people- especially migrant labourers hailing from various states including- Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and

Bihar. Containing the spread of coronavirus is a huge challenge as social distancing measures has rarely been observed in the slum settlements. While five to eight people are confined to living in a tiny room, a majority of slum dwellers share common community toilets.

The health department apart from other sanitizing measures claims to have sealed the affected slum s and initiated an aggressive contact tracing campaign to contain infection spread.

Meanwhile 13 new cases were detected on Thursday. With the latest additions the total number of positive Covid-19 cases registered by MBMC has now climbed to 403 out of which 252 people have so far recovered from the virus pulling down the number of active cases to 139. Unfortunately, twelve people have succumbed while undergoing treatment for the deadly infection. The twin-city fares in the list of red zones recently declared by the state government authorities.