6.96 lakh Malad residents live in slums. Pic/ Satej Shinde
Malad has emerged as the suburb with the most COVID-19 cases in the city — more than 10 per cent of the total active cases across the 24 wards. Andheri East and West, Parel, Bhandup are also among the top five areas with active patients. These five wards collectively have one-third of the total patients of the city. As per the count of active patients on July 1, P North ward (Malad) has 2,816 positive cases.
ADVERTISEMENT
While it is clear that COVID-19's centre has shifted to the Western and Eastern suburbs from southern Mumbai, many wards like G North, L and N have the most cases due to cumulative numbers.
To avoid further spread, the ward office has declared 31 Containment Zones (CZ) in the suburb, mostly in slum pockets, where 6.96 lakh people are staying. There are 497 sealed buildings in which 43,585 people stay. The population of the ward is 9.64 lakh. Which means, more than two-thirds of the population in P North is currently in CZs.
Sanjoy Kabre, the assistant commissioner of P North ward, told mid-day, "The number of cases reduced in Kurar village after the sealing of slums in June. Restricting people's movement helped stop the spread. But cases are increasing in buildings." He added that BMC teams are conducting doing door-to-door surveys and awareness drives. "If these do not yield results, we will have to try different strategies."
In K East ward, the number of active patient stands at 2,611. The ward office has sealed 569 buildings and 41 slum pockets.
"Now the number of cases in K East is coming down. There were 800 to 900 cases in the ninth/tenth weeks of the pandemic. But now in the 15th week of the pandemic, the number has come down to 500-550. We don't restrict the movement of essential services but the strategy of CZs, screening, testing and quarantine of high contacts have given these results," said Prashant Sapkale, assistant commissioner of K East ward.
The F South ward has around 2,000 active cases. It is the only ward in South Mumbai with such high number of active cases. There are around 1 lakh people staying in 177 buildings. The ward office has declared 34 CZs in slum pockets.
Most of the Containment Zones in Malad are in slums. Pic/ Satej Shinde
In eastern suburbs, the densely populated S ward has a high number of cases. The doubling rate of the ward is 23 days, much higher than the city's average of 41 days. The ward office has sealed 147 buildings which have 63,112 residents, whereas 83,897 people are in CZs.
Even after curbing the growth rate of COVID-19 patients in slums, the K West ward remains in the top five with most cases due to the spread in buildings. The ward had 1,791 active cases on Wednesday. Though only 15 per cent of its population is staying in slums, the number of CZs in slums is higher. Around 1.71 lakh people are in 55 CZs and 9,390 people are in sealed buildings.
These five wards together have 11,015 active patients out of the 28,157 across the city.
Wards and cases
- P North (Malad): 2,816
- K East (Andheri E, Vileparle
- E): 2,611
- F South (Parel): 1,915
- S (Bhandup): 1,882
- K West (Andheri W, Vileparle W): 1,791
- Total active patients in the city: 28,157
- Number of cumulative cases in the city: 44,296
Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.
Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
