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Slumdog Millionaire slum’s COVID-19 progress

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Dharavi, a slum area of India’s financial capital of Mumbai, is home to more than one million people. April saw the densely-populated square-mile area experience a high number of COVID-19 cases. Understandably, given its large population and living conditions which hamper efforts to physically distance, it was expected that the situation would rapidly deteriorate. This has not been the case.

a covid-19 blood test tube with result of positive on yellow background the X has clipping path and can be removed. COVID-19 testing concept. Antibody tests concept. Image credit: 罗 宏志 / 123rf
Image credit: 罗 宏志 / 123rf

Dharavi gained fame for being the setting of the international hit film and Academy Award winner Slumdog Millionaire. It is, by all rights, a perfect breeding ground for COVID to spread. Population density is at an extremely high level, with single-room shacks comprising a large proportion of the housing in the area. These spaces are often inhabited by several individuals from the same family, or, in cases of extreme poverty, multiple individuals of different families. 

In the earlier stages of the pandemic, the worst seemed it would come to pass. Dharavi recorded 491 COVID-19 cases in April. In May, cases more than doubled to 1,216. However, come the first two weeks of June, Dharavi saw only 274 cases and six deaths. While not yet in a state where the area can declare itself free of COVID or even free of risk, for such an impoverished area to orchestrate such a turnaround when other areas of the same city are seeing consistent increases is nothing short of astounding. Of the more than 2,000 cases reported thus far, half have recovered at the time of writing.

A combination of factors played a role in Dharavi quickly reducing its COVID-19 case count. Among them was a sudden thinning of the population caused by the exodus of migrant workers from the cities. Most importantly, though, was the proactive approach undertaken by Dharavi’s healthcare workers. 

As reported by BBC News

“Municipal officials say they have traced, tracked, tested and isolated aggressively to halt the spread of infection. At the heart of this has been the screening effort, involving fever camps, doorstep initiatives and mobile vans. The early door-to-door screening by workers in sweltering personal protective gear was not sustainable when the weather turned hot and muggy.

So the effort pivoted to the fever camps, where more than 360,000 people have been screened for symptoms so far. At each camp, a team of half-a-dozen doctors and health workers in protective clothing screen up to eighty residents every day for temperature and blood oxygen levels using infrared thermometers and pulse oximeters. People showing flu-like symptoms are tested for the disease on spot. Those who test positive are moved to local institutional quarantine facilities, a bunch of schools, marriage halls, sports complexes. More than 10,000 people have been put into quarantine so far. If their condition deteriorates, patients are moved to public and three private hospitals in the area.” 

“Dharavi had put in place excellent contact tracing, isolation and quarantining measures,” said Ramanan Laxminarayan, founder of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy in Washington. “It is possible that the compact geography enabled a greater level of coordination than in other places. But it is still too early to declare victory.” 

Shiv Sena, which rules Maharashtra in coalition with the Nationalist Congress Party and the Indian National Congress, hailed the “defeat” of COVID-19 in the Dharavi. An editorial in the party’s publication said “controlling the spread of the pandemic in Dharavi calls for celebrations. Those criticising the MVA [Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance] government’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis should also be invited for the celebration.” 

Such impoverished communities are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 cases due to sequestered living conditions, as well as an amplified risk of mortality and complications. Many individuals in poverty are living with untreated or mismanaged chronic conditions. Often these individuals struggle with the conditions through lack of access to healthcare, or lack of information regarding the condition. As reported by Health Issues India, research published in The Lancet, estimates that 1.7 billion people – or 22 percent of the global population – are living with an underlying condition that amplifies their risk of developing severe COVID-19.

While Dharavi is seeing a degree of success in combating the virus, it cannot be stressed enough that short-term successes are not a call to become complacent. Dharavi has won this battle, but the war is far from over.

Source: https://www.healthissuesindia.com/2020/06/27/slumdog-millionaire-slums-covid-19-progress/

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