Mumbai: 50 per cent active Covid-19 case load in western suburbs

A BMC health worker clad in PPE suit tests a passenger who arrived on Bhagat Ki Kothi Express in Mumbai. Pic/Ashish Raje

Out of the total 24 wards in the city, six are in the western suburbs, stretching from Borivli to Vile Parle. These six wards have now recorded almost 50 per cent of the city's total active load of Covid-19 cases. According to data, out of the 29,525 active patients, 12,686 are from these six wards.

There are quite a few observations made in the first and the second waves of the pandemic. In the first wave, the infection rate was higher in the slums, while in the second, cases are mostly found in high-rise buildings. One thing remained common - the worst-hit wards in terms of the number of active cases. The western suburbs has recorded the highest number of cases in both the waves of the pandemic.

Also Read: Covid-19: Cases continue to remain below 1,500 in Mumbai

These suburbs are large in area, and the population density is quite high as well. The K West ward, which has a population of 7.75 lakh, is recording over 100 cases every day - making it the worst-hit ward in the city. Even the number of active cases is quite high here at 2,591. This is followed by R C ward with 2,398 cases even though the population is much lower at 5.82 lakh. Similarly, with a maximum population of 9.74 lakh, P North ward has around 1,958 active cases, and its neighbouring P South ward with almost half the population of 4.80 lakh has recorded over 1,622 active patients.

Seven suburbs from Borivli to Vile Parle have a population of 43 lakh people, which is one-third of the city's population. But the area has almost half of the active cases. "This time, the cases are mostly in towers. Borivli, Goregaon, Andheri and Vile Parle comprise high-rises and people are aware of testing and treating. So, the number looks high," said an officer attached with the BMC.