Coronavirus | Nearly 7.5 Lakh Residents In Mumbai’s Dharavi To Undergo COVID-19 Test

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Thursday that at least 7.5 lakh residents in Mumbai's slum town Dharavi will undergo tests for coronavirus in the next 10-12 days. Dharavi, Asia's biggest slum, has recorded 14 positive cases of coronavirus so far, resulting in three deaths. Meanwhile, three more coronavirus patients have died in Pune, taking the toll in the district to 21, officials said on Thursday. The fresh deaths were reported since Wednesday night. A 60-old man from Baramati town succumbed to the viral infection in government-run Sassoon Hospital on late Wednesday night, an official said.

According to Chief Executive Officer of Pune Zilla Parishad Ayush Prasad, the elderly person was diabetic and also paralytic. Four members of his family had earlier tested positive for COVID-19, he said. Another elderly person died due to coronavirus in Sassoon Hospital, a health department official said.

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A senior health official from the Pune Municipal Corporation said the third victim, a woman, died in a private hospital on Thursday afternoon.

While Maharashtra has reported 1,297 COVID-19 cases in the last one month, highest in the country, data reveals that 80.61 per cent of the cases were detected in the first eight days of April. The number of cases in the state as of Wednesday was 1,135. By Thursday afternoon it had risen to 1,297 with 162 new cases being reported.

Till March 31, the state's official COVID-19 count was 220, which jumped by 915 (80.61 per cent) by April 8. The first three coronavirus cases were reported in Maharashtra on March 9 when the state legislature's budget session was underway.

The tally crossed 100 on March 23. The daily increase soon entered in double digits, except on March 26 when only two new cases were reported. State Health Minister Rajesh Tope made consistent appeal to people to stay indoors. Although only 15 people tested positive on April 2, 88 cases were reported the next day and 67 the day after.

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In the last five days, the state recorded more than a hundred new cases every day. The fatalities also increased at an accelerated pace in April. Of 72 deaths due to coronavirus till Wednesday, 62 were recorded since April 1. The first death was reported on March 17.