Tally of Dharavi's COVID-19 patients up by 50 to 783

Mumbai, May 7 () The number of COVID-19 patients inDharavi, Mumbai's biggest slum sprawl, reached 783 with 50 newcases surfacing there on Thursday, a senior official of theBrihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

So far 21 people have died due to the infection in theslum, but no death was reported on Thursday, the officialsaid.

According to the official, the fresh cases weredetected in Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, 60-feet Road, transit camp,90-feet Road, Matunga Labour camp, Kumbharwada,Indira Nagar,Kala Kills and some other localities of Dharavi.

On Wednesday, 68 persons had tested positive and oneperson had died due to the infection, the BMC official said.

Kiran Dighavkar, assistant commissioner of BMC's G-North ward, requested all public representatives and localNGOs to appeal to the residents of Dharavi to immediatelycontact the quarantine facility at Dharavi municipal school,if any symptoms of coronavirus were found in them.

Dharavi, believed to be the biggest slum in India, isposing a tough challenge for the BMC and the Maharashtragovernment to contain the coronavirus spread, mainly due toits population density, which makes social distancing verydifficult. KKNP NP