Mumbai, May 7: The number of COVID-19 patients in Dharavi, Mumbai's biggest slum sprawl, reached 783 with 50 new cases surfacing there on Thursday, a senior official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. So far 21 people have died due to the infection in the slum, but no death was reported on Thursday, the official said.

According to the official, the fresh cases were detected in Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, 60-feet Road, transit camp, 90-feet Road, Matunga Labour camp, Kumbharwada, Indira Nagar, Kala Kills and some other localities of Dharavi. On Wednesday, 68 persons had tested positive and one person had died due to the infection, the BMC official said. Hydroxychloroquine to be Used in Mumbai's Dharavi, Ready For 75000 Rapid Tests Across Maharashtra: Health Minister Rajesh Tope.

Kiran Dighavkar, assistant commissioner of BMC's G- North ward, requested all public representatives and local NGOs to appeal to the residents of Dharavi to immediately contact the quarantine facility at Dharavi municipal school, if any symptoms of coronavirus were found in them.

Dharavi, believed to be the biggest slum in India, is posing a tough challenge for the BMC and the Maharashtra government to contain the coronavirus spread, mainly due to its population density, which makes social distancing very difficult.

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