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<ul><li>Urban cities in the country including Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad are showing a dip in the number of infections and cases. </li><li><keyword id="48434" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="BMC">BMC</keyword> Sero survey indicates that 57% from slums in three wards in Mumbai have developed antibodies </li><li>Experts now believe that some parts of the country, especially the slums of India’s financial capital have developed Herd Immunity. </li><li>Herd Immunity occurs when a large number of people become immune to a contagious disease after being infected to it. </li><li>Business Insider India spoke to experts to understand the road ahead from here. </li></ul>Herd immunity occurs when a large number of people become immune to a contagious disease after being infected to it. The latest sets of data from the two of India’s biggest metro cities, New Delhi and Mumbai, has sparked the hope for herd immunity against COVID-19 but experts warn it may be too soon to rejoice. More than half of the population residing in slums in three different regions in Mumbai contracted coronavirus and developed its anti-bodies, according to a sero-surveillance study conducted by the city’s civic body, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFRE) and NITI Aayog (India’s premier think tank). <div type="image" title="Mumbai Sero Survey" msid="77238688" hostid="261"></div> Mumbai, where 800,000 people live in slums, has reported over 110,000 infections and 6,000 fatalities till June 29. The sero-surveillance started on June 3 and 6,936 samples out of an estimated 8,870 were collected from slum and non-slum population of three civic wards - R-North, M-West and F-North - in the first half of July. The case for possible herd immunity <div type="image" title="Dharavi2" msid="77238788" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Tempreature check up at Dharavi&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> “Although it is still unclear what level of prevalence leads to herd immunity, findings indicate at least in slums this could be attained sooner or later if the immunity exists and persists in a significant proportion of the population." the BMC statement read. “If someone is exposed and they develop antibodies, we can detect those antibodies and it gives us a relatively decent indicator that they were exposed. The interesting thing about the study is it was only looking for asymptomatic individuals. Symptomatic people are going to the system, they are getting treated, managed etc. Asymptomatic is something none of us could understand,” Dr. Marcus Ranney, General Manager (India) Thrive Global explained. This comes a week after a Delhi government survey stated that 30% of the people living in the national capital had anti-bodies of COVID-19. However, the jury is still out on whether herd immunity can stave off COVID-19 infections in the future. Here’s why herd immunity can’t be taken for granted <div type="image" title="Dharavi" msid="77238726" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;A child walks holding his grandfather&amp;#39;s walking stick at Dharavi&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> “We have to be very careful with the concept of allowing people to get infected with this virus to develop natural (herd) immunity. This approach does not seem to work (in this case). This is a very contagious infection, and it is clear that the virus can be devastating to those over the age of 60 or with underlying medical conditions,” said Issac Bogoch from the University of Toronto, Canada <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/herd-immunity-doesnt-seem-to-work-for-covid-19-need-to-be-careful/articleshow/77218380.cms">said in an interview with IANS</a>. The other downside of living in the hope of herd immunity is that it could put a lot of vulnerable people at risk. “Asymptomatic carry the same viral load as a symptomatic patient and they are not protected. An asymptomatic carrier is as lethal and as vulnerable as symptomatic. One asymptomatic can spread it to 217 people if the person is in a closed/family range, ” Prof. Dr. Sanjeev Bagai, the chairperson of Nephron Clinics, told Business Insider India Many of these people who get the virus passed on to them could be older people and those with co-morbidities like diabetes, Hepatitis and heart diseases to name a few. India has been the third-worst affected country and has reported 1.5 million cases. And even if a person does develop antibodies to fight COVID-19, they may not stay in the body forever. Research studies across the world have shown that the immunity drops 8 weeks or so after contracting COVID-19, according to Bagai. Even Ranney, who hopes that there will be herd immunity someday, warns against lowering the guard too soon. “We do not know the period of time this immunity lasts. We could see a repeated infection in the same individual (recovered patients). A King’s College study in London was suggestive that the immunity drops quite significantly,” <a href="https://twitter.com/BiIndia/status/1288331087832182786">Dr. Ranney </a>said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/mahindra-and-mahindra-finance-managing-director-gets-candid-about-the-rights-issue/articleshow/77212386.cms">EXCLUSIVE: M&amp;M Financial Managing Director gets candid about the rights issue, the bleak prospects for this year and why there should be no more loan moratorium</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/india-stock-brokers-hit-by-sebi-direct-market-access/articleshow/77198064.cms">India's broking industry just got the shock of its life – SEBI may soon allow investors to trade directly on the exchanges</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/these-10-indian-colleges-have-produced-indias-most-funded-startup-owners/slidelist/77140792.cms">These 10 Indian colleges have produced India’s most funded startup owners</a>

The slums in India's financial capital are showing signs of herd immunity but it is too soon to conclude

<ul><li>A collective called Parcham is using football to empower women and bring equality in India's largest Muslim ghetto — Mumbra.</li><li>However, India's new citizenship laws have been a huge setback to the work that Parcham has been doing.</li><li>"There is a need for us to build solidarities and get to know each other a little bit better," co-founder of Parcham, <keyword id="245150" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sabah-Khan">Sabah Khan</keyword>, told Business Insider in an interview.</li></ul>Football has often been acclaimed as a powerful tool for unity and healing the world. In suburbs of Mumbai, a collective called Parcham is trying to use that magic to empower women in India's largest Muslim ghetto — Mumbra. "We use football to engage with adolescent girls. Through the game, what we're trying to do is, break the stereotype around how people expect girls to be," said Sabah Khan, co-founder of Parcham, in an interview with Business Insider. 
 <div type="image" title="Football Camp - Siddesh Raghavendra-7" msid="74533642" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Football camp hosted by Parcham&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>



 However, India's recent citizenship law, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), isn't making work easy for them. Khan believes that it's widened the divide between the government and the Muslim community. "It has been a huge setback to everything that we've been doing," she said. "We are trying to get past the disillusion that the community has with the government. Off and on things are said — like 'we're secondary citizens', 'no-one's going to be listening to us' and stuff like that." 
 <div type="image" title="Mumbra Practise" msid="74533648" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Football practice in Mumbra&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>



 Currently, one of the collective's main tasks is to find clarity on where elected officials stand on the rollout of the National Population Register (NPR). They have been participating in protests and meeting with officials, but there's no denying that CAA has already had a detrimental effect. "It reinforces the notion that 'we are really not wanted' and 'this is how the country sees us' [among the community]," said Khan. Women have common aspirations — irrespective of religion When Khan decided to introduce the football initiative in Muslim ghettos, there were other options on the table — some girls even suggested playing cricket or kho-kho. However, at the end of the day, only football made the cut. "Football is a means for us to further what we stand for. In that way, football is a team game. It means that everyone is out there together and no one is waiting for anyone else to get run out and leave the field," she explained. 
 <div type="image" title="Football Camp - Siddesh Raghavendra-47" msid="74533651" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Football camp&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>



 Parcham primarily reaches out to pre-adolescent Muslim girls but encourages Muslim and non-Muslim girls to play together. Over time, the collective found that their aspirations have a lot in common, irrespective of which religion they followed. "The kind of atmosphere that the country is going through, there is a need for us to build solidarities and get to know each other a little bit better. In the absence of this kind of interaction, it's a breeding ground for all kinds of prejudice and bigotry," said Khan. 
 <div type="image" title="Interaction with parents 2" msid="74533645" hostid="261"></div>



 Laying claim to public spaces Football is also a way for girls to feel more confident about themselves. Just the simple act of leaving the house to participate in something different is the first step towards an independent life, according to Khan. The idea is to lay claim on public spaces, access to which has been denied to women, particularly in the marginalised sectors of society. "Even in a city like Mumbai, which is cosmopolitan, in public parks you rarely get to see young girls play with mostly boys having access to the grounds," Khan pointed out. 
 <div type="image" title="Sion Practise" msid="74533657" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Football practice in Sion&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>



 However, that's easier said than done. In the beginning, playing in an open field meant getting harassed and leered at. But the band got together and successfully petitioned the electoral representation to allocate a ground specifically for girls so that they can play in peace. Now that field is being turned into a sports ground, which could make room for other sports as well.

Here's how a collective is using football to empower women and bring unity in India’s largest Muslim ghetto

Geneva, Jul 11 () The World Health Organisation has praised the efforts taken to contain the spread of the COVID-19 in Dharavi, one of the world's largest slums, underscoring the need for community engagement along with national unity and global solidarity to turn the pandemic around. Dharavi, which is located in India's commercial capital Mumbai, is spread over an area of 2.5 square kilometres and has a population of 650,000. People live in shanties and dilapidated buildings with narrow lanes and open sewers. The first COVID-19 patient in Dharavi was found on April 1, nearly three weeks after Mumbai recorded its maiden positive case on March 11. Addressing a virtual press conference here on Friday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there were many examples from around the world that have shown that even if the outbreak is very intense, it can still be brought back under control. "And some of these examples are Italy, Spain and South Korea, and even in Dharavi - a densely packed area in the megacity of Mumbai," Ghebreyesus said. On June 9, the tally of the coronavirus cases in Dharavi, once a COVID-19 hotspot in the city, reached 2,347 after nine new infections were detected. Mumbai has recorded over 88,000 COVID-19 cases and 5,129 deaths. Dharavi has only 291 active COVID-19 cases, while 1,815 patients have recovered and discharged from COVID-19 facilities. Ghebreyesus also underlined that only aggressive action combined with national unity and global solidarity can turn the COVID-19 pandemic around. He also stressed the importance of leadership, community participation and collective solidarity to control the virus. "A strong focus on community engagement and the basics of testing, tracing, isolating and treating all those that are sick is key to breaking the chains of transmission and suppressing the virus," he added. On Saturday, India's COVID-19 tally reached 8.2 lakh with 27,114 new cases with 22,123 deaths. According to the Johns Hopkins University data, globally, there are over 12 million COVID-19 cases and the disease has claimed over 560,000 lives. RS AKJ RS RS

WHO chief praises efforts to control COVID-19 in Mumbai's Dharavi slum

<ul><li>Prabha Desai is the director of Sanmitra Trust, a voluntary trust that works on the ground level in Mumbai's second-largest slum — Malwani. </li><li>In an interview with Business Insider, Desai shed light on how having the right laws in place is an integral step towards fighting stigmas in society and ensuring identity. </li><li>Desai's has been a part of the advocacy to scrap <keyword id="6362797" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="section-377">Section 377</keyword>, fight Mumbai's HIV epidemic, and legalise dance bars in the city. </li></ul>It's not easy to spread hope in Mumbai's second-largest slum, Malwani. But, Prabha Desai is fighting against the stigmas to ensure employability and dignity of labour for women in the colony. On the ground, she works with female and floating sex workers, HIV+ children and women, and transgender individuals within the community. However, as the director of Sanmitra Trust, she's also done a lot of advocacy work — including decriminalising homosexuality by getting Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) scrapped and fighting against the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, which curtails the rights of sex workers in the country. "Final outcome is that we have a more inclusive society and sex is longer stigmatised, at least legally. Socially, it will take some time," Desai told Business Insider in an interview. Getting the law on your side Before 2017, Mumbai was engrossed in a battle against HIV with no laws in place to keep it in check. As an activist, Desai was able to participate in the process of bringing about the HIV Aids Act through a lawyer's collective. With a concrete law in place, she could now work with the police more effectively to remove the taboo around HIV. "Law creates an enabling environment on paper… In the last ten years, we have worked with the police for AIDS control and made them aware that we're not doing illegal things — we're not doing wrong things. First, remove the bias from your mind," she said. Now, every police station in Desai's community cooperates with her, but that's largely thanks to the putting concrete laws in place to strengthen her argument. People have also come to the realisation that the fight against AIDS isn't a one-person task but something for which the community needs to rally together. "Things are moving now. If law is not your side — on the side of these people who are facing discrimination and isolation — then there are so many problems. The biggest obstacles are over," she remarked. Women taking charge Having the right laws in place helps isolated women in society have an identity. Desai has worked with lawyers to legalise dance bars in Mumbai and scrap Section 377 to ensure to create a more inclusive society. "We fought against the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. We participated and demanded that it should be decriminalised and it shouldn't be an offence. Women should not be punished," she said. However, that's only one part of the problem. The second is making sure that these women have other options — a way to participate in the economy and be financially independent, by having access to opportunity. In service of that goal, Desai set up an alternative trade skill training centre. Now, she's in the process of launching her own mega-textile cluster for tannery operations with 500 women on board. Other changes have been happening on the ground as well. Women in Malwani are now looking to drive, have their own bank accounts — and know how to bank online. 52 women from the community got their licences last year, of whom four were HIV+. "In my area, now women wearing a burqa and going on scooty is common, nobody looks at them also," said Desai. There's still a long road ahead to fix all the problems that Malwani faces. The area has its own infrastructural problems — like lack of drainage and sanitation — which makes work twice as hard. But, with the law on their side, Desai feels things are going to improve even faster now.

Fighting AIDS, decriminalising LGBTQ+, and legalising dance bars are only some of the achievements by a woman fighting stereotypes in Mumbai's second-largest slum

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The slums in India's financial capital are showing signs of herd immunity but it is too soon to conclude

BI India Bureau

Here's how a collective is using football to empower women and bring unity in India’s largest Muslim ghetto

Prabhjote Gill

WHO chief praises efforts to control COVID-19 in Mumbai's Dharavi slum

PTI

Fighting AIDS, decriminalising LGBTQ+, and legalising dance bars are only some of the achievements by a woman fighting stereotypes in Mumbai's second-largest slum

Prabhjote Gill

Photos show how one of the world's largest slums defied the odds and contained its coronavirus outbreak

Bill Bostock

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