Three new COVID-19 cases in Dharavi; slum area tally now 10

Three more persons tested positive for coronavirus in Dharavi area on Wednesday, taking the number of such cases in the densely-populated slum area of Mumbai to 10, a civic official said.

The three patients are- a 25-year-old man from Mukund Nagar locality, a 35-year-old man from Dhanwada chawl, and a 60-year-old woman, who resides in Muslim Nagar, he said.

The patient from Mukund Nagar was a high risk contact of a 49-year-old man, who earlier tested positive for coronavirus, and was kept at a quarantine facility, he said.

"The 60-year-old woman from Muslim Nagar works as a cleaner at the KEM Hospital. She tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday afternoon, which took the number of COVID-19 patients from Dharavi to 10. These cases include a 56-year-old person who died at Sion Hospital," the official said.

"Contact tracing is underway in Dhanwada chawl (where another new case has been reported)," the official said, adding they are going to seal the area as per the protocol.

Dharavi is one of the biggest slums in Asia where nearly 15 lakh people live in small shanties, making it one of the most congested areas of the metropolis.