Dharavi COVID-19 death: Contact tracing, testing as per protocol being conducted, says health ministry

In the wake of the death of a COVID-19 patient from Mumbai's Dharavi, one of the biggest slums in Asia, the Health Ministry on Thursday said contact tracing and testing as per protocol is being conducted there.

Several small-scale industries and workshops of leather goods, pottery and textiles operate from the slum colony spread over 613 acres.

The death of the COVID-19 patient in Dharavi has sparked a fear of its spread in the highly congested area.

Asked about the issue, Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the Ministry of Health, said there are 300 flats and 90 shops in the vicinity and the building to which the patient belongs to has been sealed.

Samples of the patient's family members living in that colony and residents of the building are being collected, he said.

"As per protocol, contact tracing has been initiated. As per information provided by the state government, around 4,000 healthcare workers are currently involved in the works related to tracing and testing," he said, adding that appropriate action is being taken.

A whopping 15 lakh people live in small shanties dotting the narrow bylanes of Dharavi, making it one of the most congested areas of the city.

After the man died at the nearby government-run Sion Hospital, some 300 tenements in the building and around 90 shops were cordoned off by police.