Doctors: India must prepare for ‘onslaught’ of COVID-19

One of Asia's biggest slums has confirmed its first COVID-19 death as top Indian doctors warn that the country must prepare to face an "onslaught" of cases that could cripple the health system to levels far beyond what Europe and the United States are experiencing.

A 56-year-old man died due to COVID-19 related illness in Dharavi slum, in the Indian financial capital of Mumbai.

CNN reports the patient, who had no travel history, died hours just after testing positive for coronavirus while being transferred to a local hospital.

Several of the man's family members have been tested and placed under home quarantine, and the block of 300 homes and 90 shops that make up his densely packed neighborhood have been sealed off to prevent further infections.

Home to around 1 million people, Dharavi slum has a population density, almost 30 times greater than New York -- about 280,000 people per square kilometer.

CNN