MUMBAI: Over 88% of the Covid cases in the city came from high growth last week. According to civic data, the slums are hardly reporting a large number of infections.
Considering the rise in cases, the corporation analyzed 3,300 positive cases reported last week. Additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani said, “Around 88% of the cases were from buildings. Not many cases are being received from slums in most of the wards.” During the second wave, a similar trend was noted, the reasons for which were attributed to higher exposure among slum dwellers to improved immunity to a testing bias.
Cases are largely driven by building construction in some wards of the city with the highest weekly growth rates, including A (0.15%), D (0.13%), H-West (0.12%), G-South (0.12%) and Kwest . Residents who test positive after international travel or social activities. Ward A covers Colaba to Fort, D covers Tardeo Girgaon, H-West Bandra to Khar, G-South Worli to lower Parel and K-West is Andheri-Ville Parle-Juhu.
A closer look reveals that the jhuggi-jhopri-construction division is even greater. Take the example of M-West Ward which is located in Chembur and . covers Tilak Nagar and over 1.5 lakh, or 35%, of the population living in slums. Still, Dr Bhupendra Patil, Medical Officer (MOH) of the ward’s health admitted that hardly many cases have been found in the ward. “Almost all of our patients are building residents,” he said. Only a few people have a history of foreign travel. “The most common source we found during contact tracing was a recent wedding party or a social gathering they attended,” he said.
The trend is similar in N ward (Ghatkopar, Vidyavihar), where up to 60% of the population lives in slums, but most cases are in high-rise areas. Since the rise, the ward has been registering 30-35 cases every day. “But hardly four or five will be from the slums,” said Dr Mahendra Khandade, MoH of the ward. Most of his positive patients gave a history of either going out to a restaurant or attending the wedding of a friend or family member. “Despite the 9 pm curfew on Sunday, the restaurants were packed. We fined five restaurants from 10,000; So the crowd was less on Monday,” he said.
But low detection in slums should not mean there are no cases, Khandade said. “Often the slum dwellers are hesitant to get tested because of concerns about being away from work. Some might not take the disease very seriously as the symptoms can be mild,” he said.
That said, since building residents are more actively tested, there is an inherent testing bias that reflects higher cases in affluent pockets, he said.
Kakani said that they have not been able to ascertain any specific factor behind the rapid growth of Mumbai. “Whether married or those returning from abroad and later testing positive, or domestic travelers arriving in the city, we do not know what is responsible,” he said. A ward official said, “It will be a real mystery; What if Omicron isn’t causing it?”
The increase in cases is also increasing the number of hospitalizations. Dr Gautam Bhansali of Bombay Hospital said they are registering double-digit admissions though serious cases are less. Doctor Sujit ChatterjeeThe CEO of Hiranandani Hospital on Monday said that they saw 13 new Covid admissions as compared to 4-5 earlier.
Considering the rise in cases, the corporation analyzed 3,300 positive cases reported last week. Additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani said, “Around 88% of the cases were from buildings. Not many cases are being received from slums in most of the wards.” During the second wave, a similar trend was noted, the reasons for which were attributed to higher exposure among slum dwellers to improved immunity to a testing bias.
Cases are largely driven by building construction in some wards of the city with the highest weekly growth rates, including A (0.15%), D (0.13%), H-West (0.12%), G-South (0.12%) and Kwest . Residents who test positive after international travel or social activities. Ward A covers Colaba to Fort, D covers Tardeo Girgaon, H-West Bandra to Khar, G-South Worli to lower Parel and K-West is Andheri-Ville Parle-Juhu.
A closer look reveals that the jhuggi-jhopri-construction division is even greater. Take the example of M-West Ward which is located in Chembur and . covers Tilak Nagar and over 1.5 lakh, or 35%, of the population living in slums. Still, Dr Bhupendra Patil, Medical Officer (MOH) of the ward’s health admitted that hardly many cases have been found in the ward. “Almost all of our patients are building residents,” he said. Only a few people have a history of foreign travel. “The most common source we found during contact tracing was a recent wedding party or a social gathering they attended,” he said.
The trend is similar in N ward (Ghatkopar, Vidyavihar), where up to 60% of the population lives in slums, but most cases are in high-rise areas. Since the rise, the ward has been registering 30-35 cases every day. “But hardly four or five will be from the slums,” said Dr Mahendra Khandade, MoH of the ward. Most of his positive patients gave a history of either going out to a restaurant or attending the wedding of a friend or family member. “Despite the 9 pm curfew on Sunday, the restaurants were packed. We fined five restaurants from 10,000; So the crowd was less on Monday,” he said.
But low detection in slums should not mean there are no cases, Khandade said. “Often the slum dwellers are hesitant to get tested because of concerns about being away from work. Some might not take the disease very seriously as the symptoms can be mild,” he said.
That said, since building residents are more actively tested, there is an inherent testing bias that reflects higher cases in affluent pockets, he said.
Kakani said that they have not been able to ascertain any specific factor behind the rapid growth of Mumbai. “Whether married or those returning from abroad and later testing positive, or domestic travelers arriving in the city, we do not know what is responsible,” he said. A ward official said, “It will be a real mystery; What if Omicron isn’t causing it?”
The increase in cases is also increasing the number of hospitalizations. Dr Gautam Bhansali of Bombay Hospital said they are registering double-digit admissions though serious cases are less. Doctor Sujit ChatterjeeThe CEO of Hiranandani Hospital on Monday said that they saw 13 new Covid admissions as compared to 4-5 earlier.
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