Dharavi draws praise foflattening the curve; doctors credit joint efforts

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi congratulated all those responsible for the achievement

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said said that Dharavi slum in Mumbai had emerged as a global role model for controlling the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"Asia's largest slum & densely populated area like Dharavi has not only shown the World that through collective effort Corona can be controlled but has also made a name for itself globally as a role model in the fight against Corona," Thackeray said. "The recovery rate has risen to 82 per cent and the number of active cases is only about 166. The composite efforts in breaking the chains of transmission & suppressing the virus was also acknowledged by the Director-General of World Health Organization (WHO) @DrTedros," the Maharashtra CMO said in another tweet.
 

The Chief Minister said that such examples of human triumph over global pandemic can inspire others. 

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also congratulated all those responsible for the achievement.

At a virtual press conference on Friday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Dharavi, among other places in the world, is an example that shows that even if the outbreak is very intense, it can still be brought under control.

"A strong focus on community engagement and the basics of testing, tracing, isolating and treating all those that are sick is key to breaking the chains of transmission and suppressing the virus," he said. In a tweet in Hindi, Gandhi said, "The WHO has praised our country's Dharavi model for preventing the spread of coronavirus infection. The entire team responsible for this achievement of Dharavi, especially the residents, deserve applause."

Mahim Dharavi Medical Practitioners Association conducts a thermal screening of residents of Shastri Nagar during a nationwide lockdown in the wake of coronavirus pandemic at Dharavi. Photo: PTI

Locals, doctors credit joint efforts for Dharavi tackling Covid-19

Local medical practitioners and the administration have said that results have been achieved due to work done in collaboration by various organizations.

Dr Ayazuddin Farooqi, a physician who has been practising for 27 years in Dharavi, said that he was proud of the praise showered by the WHO. He said that the credit should be shared between the Brihannmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and local practitioners.

"We have been working very hard to get these numbers down. At the start, it was very difficult to manage patients as the numbers were quite high. But the local doctors of Dharavi got together with BMC and worked hard. Sometimes it was not possible for us to screen all the patients so we communicated (about) the symptomatic patients to BMC directly," he said.

Nasim Bano, a local resident, thanked the doctors from the area and BMC for spreading awareness and helping the patients during the crisis.