Mumbai survey finds half of slum residents have had COVID-19, 16% in other areas

Over half of the people living in Mumbai’s slums, have had coronavirus, a new study revealed. The city, with 40% population living in slums, has reported just over 110,000 infections and more than 6,000 deaths so far.

For the survey, blood samples of 6,936 people were collected by the Mumbai’s city authorities. Upon testing, 57% of slum-dwellers and 16% of non-slum residents were found to have virus antibodies. 

The survey results suggested asymptomatic infections were “likely to be a high proportion of all infections” and also indicated the virus death rate was likely to be “very low”, the study said.

An estimated 1 million people, out of the city’s 20 million residents, live in Dharavi — India’s largest and one of the most densely populated slums in the world. It reported the first COVID-19 case in April and quickly became a virus hotspot. It has reported a little over 2,500 cases.

Fatalities in the sprawling slum have not exploded, with local officials saying their aggressive efforts to stem the spread of the virus has been effective. The efforts were lauded by the WHO’s Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 

The Mumbai survey came a week after an antibody study commissioned by the government suggested that almost a quarter of people in the capital New Delhi, home to 20 million people, have had the virus.

India has emerged as the third-worst hit country by the coronavirus pandemic. Till now, it has reported 1,483,157 cases and  33,425 fatalities.