The Ministry said being densely populated (2,27,136 persons/sq. km), Dharavi had 491 cases in April 2020 with a 12% growth rate and a case doubling period of 18 days.
The Union Health Ministry on Sunday said the Maharashtra government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have been able to effectively bring down the COVID-19 spread in Dharavi.
In a release on Sunday, the Ministry said being densely populated (2,27,136 persons/sq. km), Dharavi had 491 cases in April 2020 with a 12% growth rate and a case doubling period of 18 days.
“The proactive measures adopted by the BMC have reduced the growth rate to 4.3% in May and further to 1.02% in June. These measures also ensured an improved case doubling time to 43 days in May and 78 days in June.”
Nurse Priti Srivastava checks on a COVID-19 patient. From 491 cases in April and 1,216 in May, the number dropped to 274 in June. Between April 1 and June 15, a total of 2,068 cases were reported, of which 1,040 patients recovered and 77 died.
Among the facilities fighting the disease in this area is the 300-bed Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex. The complex was converted into a Covid Care Centre for asymptomatic patients or those with mild symptoms, in the first week of April.
A doctor, nurse and a ward boy enter the isolation facility for routine check-up rounds. During the routine check-up, doctors check patients' oxygen level, temperature, sugar level and blood pressure. If a patient is found to have developed severe symptoms, they are shifted to hospital.
Dr. Ankita Shete interacts with a patient. A combination of containment, testing and guaranteed food and medicine supplies, along with intensive door-to-door surveillance and assistance from private agencies, helped bring down the numbers.
Patients practise yoga at the 300-bed COVID-19 care centre (CCC) at Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex in Dharavi for mild and asymptomatic patients. Dr. Dhananjay More, who has been conducting yoga and laughter therapy sessions since the start of April, has received positive feedback from patients. Some have also sought video clips to continue the exercise at home.
The medical staff take a break for lunch. The CCC at Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex is managed by a dedicated team of three doctors, three nurses, eight ward boys and two coordinators.
Ward boy Kaustubh places medicine in a plastic container for a patient in isolation. Ward boys regularly sanitise premises, take food to the patients and move serious patients to hospitals. Most ward boys and support staff have been hired on contract during the pandemic. Ward boy Sumeet Yahudi asks, “Sir, hum log jaan pe khelke patients ke seva kar rahe hain. Yeh BMC wale hum ko naukri me lenge na? (We are serving patients risking our lives. Will the BMC give us a permanent job?)”
Doctor Ankita Shete and nurse Priti Srivastava try to console a patient who has learnt of her husband's death from COVID-19. Kept in isolation, the woman was unable to see him for the last time. Besides treating patients for COVID-19 symptoms, healthcare staff also counsel and comfort them to maintain their morale.
A father and his son, both COVID-19 patients, play snake and ladder on mobile at Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex, Covid Care Centre (CCC) in Dharavi, Mumbai. The 300-hundred bed COVID Care Centre started in first week of April will be closing within a week.
Staff from the CCC cheer patients being discharged after recovering from COVID-19. With the 300-bed CCC — set up in April first week — now housing only three patients, authorities plan to close it once the last batch is discharged. Fresh cases will be taken to the dedicated COVID-19 health centre near Mahim Nature Park, assistant municipal commissioner Kiran Dighavkar said.
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It said several challenges presented themselves to the BMC where 80% population depends on community toilets and about 8-10 people live in households/hutments which measure about 10ft x 10ft coupled with narrow lanes with 2-3 storied houses where often the ground floor is a house and the other floors are used as factories. Hence, there are severe limitations of physical distancing with no possibility of effective ‘Home Quarantine’.
“The BMC adopted a model of actively following four T’s – Tracing, Tracking, Testing and Treating. A salient feature of its response strategy is strict enforcement of containment measures with three primary components — an effective containment strategy, conducting comprehensive testing and ensuring uninterrupted supply of goods and essential supplies to the community. Also only critical patients were moved outside Dharavi for admission to hospitals; 90% of the patients were treated inside Dharavi itself,” said the Ministry.
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