Mumbai: No Covid-19 cases in Dharavi today

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Dharavi recorded zero cases of Covid-19 as per Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai on Monday, reports ANI.

Dharavi's infection tally stands unchanged at 6,861, while the active caseload is 13, comprising seven in hospitals and six in home isolation, a civic official said.

Previously, the slum area had not detected a single case on Wednesday (June 2). It reported one new coronavirus case the next day.

Dharavi became a hotspot of coronavirus infection at the start of April, with 99 cases reported on April 8 alone.

Spread over 2.5 sq km, Dharavi is considered to be Asia's largest slum, with a population of over 6.5 lakh.

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Though Dharavi beat two Covid-19 waves quite effectively, the response to vaccination in the area has been lukewarm ever since it started on March 1 this year. Only 20,504 doses have been administered since then. Hence, in order to boost the vaccination drive, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started a door-to-door campaign to register people for it.

Siddharth Medhe, president of Dharavi Nagrik Seva Samiti had said, "There is vaccine hesitancy in the people of the area. As a local NGO, we reach out to people and urge them to get vaccinated, but many simply refuse to do it. There is a general misconception that even if vaccines are taken there is a possibility of death, in fact many believe that vaccines can lead to death."

"We try to sensitise people in our area but we have certain limitations. We need a bigger campaign to encourage people to get vaccinated," he added.

With inputs from agencies and Anurag Kamble