MUMBAI: With the number of covid-19 infections ballooning in Mumbai, a senior state health officer has said the the city is witnessing community spread of the virus although the lockdown has slowed its pace considerably. “Community spread of covid-19 has been noticed in many parts of the country and it’s there in Mumbai for the last few weeks," Pradeep Awate, Maharashtra state epidemiologist, told Mint in a phone interview. “The government has already accepted this.
About 35-40% of the population in large cities lives in slums, where it is difficult to observe social distancing. It is difficult to control the transmission here," he said.