COVID-19 tally in Maharashtra hits 3,320 coronavirus positive cases; Mumbai reports 2,085 cases, 122 deaths so far

As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak continues to spread like wildfire across India, the state of Maharashtra has emerged as the epicenter of coronavirus spread as it became the first state to cross over 3,000 positive cases of COVID-19 in the country. The case tally in Maharashtra currently stands at 3,320.

The state has reported 118 new COVID-19 cases and seven deaths today, out of which five deaths were in Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, which has emerged as the hotbed of the coronavirus spread in the state.

According to the Maharashtra Health Department, a total of 122 people have died and around 2,085 people have been found COVID-19 positive in Mumbai so far. Around 332 patients have also been cured or discharged from medical centers after treatment.

The biggest challenge in Mumbai is containing the spread of coronavirus in Dharavi, considered one of the largest slums in the world.

The Mumbai Police had last Sunday barricaded the Dharavi area in the city amid rising coronavirus cases from the locality. Police personnel were also deployed in the area to keep a watch on the movement of people.

It is to be noted that Dharavi is a densely populated slum in Mumbai with over 15 lakh people, spread over 613 hectares. Many media reports claim that social distancing in such a densely populated slum is unthinkable. On an average, five to eight people share a 100 sq ft of room in this region. According to the guidelines of social distancing set by WHO, one person should get to stay a minimum of 20 sq ft of the area but in Dharavi, it is less than 10 sq ft.

But even outside of Dharavi, the city of Mumbai remains adversely affected by the virus outbreak. New cases of COVID-19 affected individuals are being reported from the Dadar area in South Mumbai.

Notably, this comes amid reports that citizens -- commoners and political leaders alike -- continue to violate social distancing norms and lockdown protocols. Several fruits and vegetable markets across the nation, among other things, continue to function as normal attracting a large crowd daily.

A large crowd was witnessed at the Byculla vegetable market in Mumbai on Saturday, where people gathered in large numbers, flouting social distancing and lockdown norms, to buy essentials.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country crossed the 14,000-mark on Saturday with the death toll reaching 480. According to the Union Ministry of Health & Famly Welfare, 991 new COVID-19 cases and 43 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Tuesday announced an extension of nationwide lockdown till May 3 to battle the novel coronavirus. Saturday marks Day 4 of the extended COVID-19 Lockdown 2.0.