The Philippines government will follow the ‘Dharavi model’ of India for containing the spread of novel coronavirus in densely populated slum areas in Philippines, BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said in a statement. This comes after Dharavi, known as Asia’s largest slum, managed to successfully reverse the trend of rising COVID-19 cases.
"Team BMC shows the way to the World to fight Covid-19 virus, on front foot. Civic body resolves not to be complacement and lower its guard ever. Let us all join hands and resolve to win this war on covid decisively," Chahal said.
The BMC's "Chase the virus policy" has received global recognition after World Health Organisation’s (WHO) and Washington Post lauded the Dharavi-model that helps contain the spread of Coronavirus.
In the article titled ‘How a packed slum in Mumbai beat back the coronavirus, as India’s cases continue to soar,’ in its July 31 edition, the Washington Post has stated that Dharavi’s turnaround offers both lessons and promise for other dense neighbourhoods, particularly in parts of the developing world battling the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Dharavi slum sprawl in Mumbai on Monday added just four new COVID-19 cases, taking the total count to 2,672, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official told PTI. Of the 2,672 cases, 2,333 patients have already recovered and discharged from hospitals, he said, adding that the slum colony now has only 80 active cases.