Photo: Ameeq | Pixabay
As India faces record deaths daily, new coronavirus cases in the Mumbai slum of Dharavi have plunged in recent weeks, thanks to mass testing and daily cleaning of public bathrooms and areas, from lessons learned during the first wave in 2020. "A testing protocol including free tests for tens of thousands of residents was revived as cases crept into double digits, fever camps were set up to scan for symptoms, and quarantine facilities set up last year were reopened," Thomson Reuters Foundation reported. The slum is home to 850,000 people who share 55,000 mostly one-room homes. Following a peak of cases in mid-April 2021, with official counts of daily highs at 11,000 positive cases a day, officials are preparing resources for a possible third wave, including setting up facilities for children who are not yet eligible for vaccination. "We can't assume everything is okay.... Every wave has its own challenges," said Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner with Mumbai's civic body. "But there is a positive impact of these changes in Dharavi on children who have had an early exposure to good habits. And that will be permanent change."
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