Covid-19: Deaths rise in India's biggest slum

A doctor scans residents from Dharavi, one of Asia's largest slums, with an infrared thermometer to check their temperature as a precautionary measure against the spread of the coronavirus disease in Mumbai. NEW DELHI: Covid-19 (coronavirus) cases in Mumbai's densely populated Dharavi slum -- one of Asia's biggest -- have risen to 43 including four deaths, officials said on Monday (April 13), as they ramp up testing in a race to contain its spread.Since the first virus death in early April, Indian authorities have stepped up measures to close off areas where cases have emerged in Dharavi, which is home to around a million people. But 15 new cases and one death were reported overnight, taking the number of infections to 43 in the neighbourhood made famous by the 2008 Oscar-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire", Mumbai council spokesman Vijay Khabale-Patil said Sunday. Testing sites have also been set up in recent days to pick up asymptomatic carriers of the virus, Khabale-Patil said, adding that "as a result more positive cases have emerged". "We have been running extensive medical camps in Dharavi and other areas of Mumbai to test more people for coronavirus and make sure carriers are not ignored just because they don't display symptoms," he said.. Local officials also closed all shops, except pharmacies, near so-called "containment zones" in Dharavi from Friday to limit the number of people in public spaces. Some states including Maharashtra, where Mumbai is located, said Saturday that the strict measures -- due to be lifted on April 15 -- would be extended until the end of the month. The Indian Council of Medical Research, the scientific agency leading the government's response, on Sunday said testing was increasing, with more than 15,500 samples taken daily since last week. The health ministry added that India now had 105,000 dedicated COVID-19 beds in 601 hospitals across the vast nation of 1.3 billion people, official Lav Agarwal said. Dharavi's population density is thought to be 270,000 people per square kilometre, according to the World Economic Forum.