Mumbai, Sep 18 (PTI) The COVID-19 infection count in Dharavi, the largest slum in Mumbai, rose to 2,993 with the addition of 18 cases on Friday, a senior Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said.

The tally is now close to the 3,000-mark about five- and-a-half months after the first COVID-19 case was detected in the area on April 1.

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Out of the total number of 2,993 patients, 2,562 have already recovered and discharged from hospitals, the official added.

Dharavi currently has 168 active cases, he added.

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The civic body has, however, stopped sharing the death toll from the area, if any, since June.

Dharavi is considered the largest slum in Asia with a population over 6.5 lakh. It is spread over 2.5 square kms of area.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)