Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam
Maharashtra now has over 1,100 coronavirus cases and a lion’s share of this number has been recorded in Mumbai. India’s financial capital already has almost 700 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 as of 8 April and at least 45 people have died due to the disease.
Coronavirus patients are distributed across the city, but which areas are the most- affected? To understand this, let’s break down Mumbai into 24 parts.
The city has been divided into 24 wards. While the BMC, which is the civic body of Mumbai, oversees all these wards, for administrative convenience, each ward has its own specific ward officer.
Four wards have emerged as COVID-19 hotspots and at least three of these are located in South Mumbai. One among these four wards has soared ahead with the maximum number of cases: G South ward.
G South Ward
Some of the areas that G South ward covers are Worli, Dadar, NM Joshi Marg. It’s spread across an area of 10 sq km and this area alone has recorded at least 184 cases till 8 April. Worli Koliwada area, which was the first in Mumbai to be sealed by the BMC, is a part of this ward.
This fishing hamlet that’s home to almost 14,000 families has been one of the worst- hit as it has been turned into a containment zone for almost 10 days now. Residents complain about barely receiving even essential supplies since the area was sealed.
E Ward
Neighbouring E Ward is faring slightly better than G South ward with 64 cases as of 8 April. Areas like Byculla, Sewree among others are a part of this ward and as are some of the hospitals that have been treating COVID-19 patients, Kasturba Hospital for instance.
Wockhardt Hospital, which had to be turned into a containment zone by the BMC after at least 30 of its staff, including nurses and doctors, tested positive for COVID-19, is also a part of E Ward.
D Ward & K West Ward
D Ward and K West Ward close at the third and the fourth place respectively with regards to the number of coronavirus cases.
D Ward, consisting of areas like the posh Malabar Hill, Tardeo, Gamdevi among others, has recorded at least 53 cases. Meanwhile, K West Ward is the only one out of the top four affected wards which is not located in South Bombay. Areas like Andheri, Versova, Oshiwara, Santa Cruz and Juhu among others, which are a part of the suburbs of Mumbai, are in this ward. This region has seen at least 46 cases.
Five other wards have recorded anywhere between 21 to 40 cases. 11 wards have anywhere between 11 to 20 cases. Only four wards have recorded between five to 10 cases as of 8 April. None of the wards have emerged unscathed.
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