COVID-19: Why Panvel has 5,000-plus cases but no hotspot

Empty streets in Panvel amid the ongoing lockdown

The fresh lockdowns imposed in Panvel by the municipal corporation July 3 onwards have helped reduce COVID-19 cases by 40 per cent. From 190-200 cases per day after Unlock 1.0, the number has come down to 100-120 in the past few days.

According to a survey conducted by the Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) most of the infected people are the ones going outside Panvel for work. The PMC, with a population of over 8.5 lakh has 5,000 cases so far and zero hotspots.

Deserted streets in Panvel

"We don't have a single place or any building which can be declared as a hotspot.

"A maximum of four to five cases are reported from each building and most of them come from the same family, which means one person who stepped out for work is the main carrier of the virus," said PMC Commissioner Sudhakar Deshmukh.

'Movement caused spike'
Even after tracing 40 people for every person infected, cases in the city were on the rise. The fresh lockdown was declared till July 13 and then extended till July 24.

"The reason behind the sudden spike in cases was obvious - the increased movement of people. Panvel was developed by CIDCO and most of the people living here go to Thane, Mumbai, and other nearby cities for work.

Some shops that were open pre-lockdown

"This is why they are getting infected. With markets shut and the movement of people restricted, the cases have finally decreased," Deshmukh said.

The municipality along with the police has fined over 1,000 people R100 for not wearing a mask.

The PMC headquarters

Those not maintaining social distancing have been fined Rs 200, shop owners violating lockdown rules have been fined Rs 1,000. In 17 days, over Rs 5 lakh has been collected in fines.

Deshmukh did not confirm if the lockdown will be extended but officials felt that cases can be controlled only through strick restrictions on movement and extensive contact tracking.

In numbers
Currently, Panvel has over 5,000 total cases of which 3,333 people have recovered, 114 having died so far.

The recovery rate stands at 70 per cent and mortality rate at 2 per cent. The corporation has 3,100 beds for COVID-19 patients.

Most of the asymptotic patients are being treated at home with medicines being provided to them by the civic body.

Officials are also taking regular updates on their health. Over 15,000 have been tested for free by the civic body.

As compared to other cities, Panvel also has a lesser slum population - around 60,000 to 70,000 in 53 slums.

These have seen very less number of cases and most of the infected have recovered.

5,000
Approx. no. of total COVID-19 cases in Panvel

3,333
No. of patients who hav recovered in Panvel till date

114
No. of deaths from COVID-19 in Panvel till date

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