The Malabar Hill, Alta Mount Road, Peddar Road and Breach Candy are the most affluent, upmarket, and poshest residential areas of South Mumbai and indeed the whole of Mumbai. Unfortunately, these very areas, which come under Ward D of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, have emerged as a new Covid-19 hotspot in the city. The growth rate of cases in these areas is 2%, higher than the city’s average of 1.34%, and the doubling rate is 35 days, lower than the city’s average of 52 days, according to the figures as of 16 July.
The total number of cases in the ward is 4,229 and 167 deaths with a recovery rate of 28% and a fatality rate of 4.3%. Its active cases are 827mostly from high-rises, 288 of which are sealed. Mumbai’s recovery rate stands at 69.9%, and the fatality rate at 5.6%.
Recently Navjivan Society, one of the largest societies of D Ward, has 30 Covid-19 positive cases and the society has been sealed by the BMC.
Assistant Commissioner of D Ward Prashant Gaikwad said, “During the lockdown, residents of these high-rises did not venture out.
Now that restrictions have eased, some residents have started going to work.”He added that house helps have returned to work in these high-rises and the rate of infection among them and other staff is very high.