Mumbai: With the state government easing the lockdown restrictions, the number of Covid-19 cases in suburban Mumbai is on the rise. A case in point is K East ward, which currently has 4,746 cases and has emerged as the new hotspot.
At present, K-E has 2,591 active cases, the highest in the city. In the last week of May, the ward had close to 1,800 cases, which means there has been a spike of over 200 per cent in just three weeks.
To contain the spread, corporators and housing societies have decided to tighten the lockdown rules. Earlier, most cases were from the slum areas. But now, since the 'Mission Begin Again' phase began, there are cases emerging from high-rises as well.
Ward residents believe, people began to leave the safe confines of their homes and began to step out the minute some lockdown rules were eased and this caused mass contac at markets and on the roads and the resultant spike in cases.
"Earlier, in my area, on an average, 30 positive cases would emerge every day. However, this number has drastically fallen, with not more than two cases each day," said Congress corporator Jagdish Amin, K East ward (82).
"Since there are mostly slums in my area, we imposed a total lockdown. However, now, the virus has spread in areas with mixed population, mainly in Jogeshwari," explained Amin.
Housing complexes and citizens' groups have decided to observe a complete lockdown.
Akruti Orchid Park Society at Saki Naka Junction, Andheri east, has locked itself in completely. Residents are not allowed to step out and a ban has been imposed on the entry of housekeepers and maids as well.
"The aggressive spread of the virus began when people started to go out, since the last week of May, making light of lockdown rules. So, we had no choice but to clamp down," said resident Manish Mistry.
Societies, which earlier used to check temperatures of their residents, have now procured oximeters and those entering or exiting building premises are regularly checked.
"We are monitoring residents' health everyday. We are more concerned that there might be an asymptomatic patient, which is why we are conducting rapid tests," said Marol resident Vincent Rebello.
In areas like Jogeshwari, most societies have now locked themselves in voluntarily, to prevent the spread.
Most of them say, as the government relaxed norms, many began to set out jogging and there was a stready stream of people going back and forth from the buildings, so housing societies had to tighten rules.
"The civic body has taken note of the issue and have marked the containment zones. We are also conducting ground-level surveys in our jurisdiction. Housing societies have been told not to allow any one into the building unless they are subjected to thermal scanning and oximeter testing. Since there are so many families living here, it is best to be proactive," said K East BJP corporator Pankaj Yadav.
