WHO lauds containment efforts in Dharavi slum

World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Saturday said the examples of Italy, Spain, South Korea, and India's biggest slum Dharavi has shown that however bad an outbreak could get, the virus could still be contained.

"In the last six weeks cases have more than doubled," Tedros told, adding, "there are many examples from around the world that have shown that even if the outbreak is very intense, it can still be brought back under control," said Tedros.

"And some of these examples are Italy, Spain and South Korea, and even in Dharavi — a densely packed area in the megacity of Mumbai — a strong focus on community engagement and the basics of testing, tracing, isolating and treating all those that are sick is key to breaking the chains of transmission and suppressing the virus."

At least 555,000 people worldwide have succumbed to the virus since its outbreak originated from China last December. Around 12.3 million positive cases have been recorded across 196 countries so far.