Mumbai’s ‘Dharavi model’ helps tame second COVID-19 wave in slum town

The sharp rise in cases pushed the civic authorities to once again fall back on the “Dharavi model” which involved 4Ts – tracing, tracking, testing and treating.

After reporting up to 99 cases every day in April, Mumbai’s slum colony of Dharavi has seen a gradual drop in single-day infections – below 5 – in the last couple of days with the tally of patients under treatment dropping to 50, marking a turnaround in the second wave. The ‘Dharavi model’ of management and the vaccination drive have helped in successfully containing the second wave in the area, officials said. A steady drop in coronavirus cases in Dharavi, a sprawling and congested shanty town which was once a COVID-19 hotspot, has brought huge relief to the civic authorities in Mumbai.