First coronavirus death reported in Asia's largest slum Dharavi in India's financial hub Mumbai

A woman wearing a protective mask in Mumbai, India, on March 22, 2020. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

MUMBAI - Asia's largest slum located in India's financial capital of Mumbai has reported its first coronavirus fatality, according to local reports.

The patient, a 56-year-old man, was moved to the Sion hospital on Wednesday and authorities have sealed the building where he lived, which is located in a redeveloped part of the Dharavi slum, the NDTV reported.

Seven members of his family have been quarantined and they will be tested on Thursday for the virus that causes the Covid-19 disease, the Xinhua news agency cited the spokesman for the city's municipal corporation as saying.

Spreading over some 6 sq km of land - almost half the size of the Ang Mo Kio district in Singapore - the densely populated Dharavi is home to over 1.5 million people who live in cramped huts and near open sewers.

The death toll due to the Covid-19 in India stands at 58 as of Thursday, according to tracking website Worldometer, while the number of confirmed cases in the country is creeping close to 2,000.

Mumbai has recorded a large number of Covid-19 cases with two localities - Worli and Goregaon - being declared as hotspots and sealed.

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