BMC finds barely 0.8% of SWM staff infected with COVID-19

Barely 0.8% of frontline workers from the Solid Waste Management (SWM) department of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) tested positive for COVID-19 in rapid antigen tests conducted since July 24.

A total of 14,527 staffers from the department, most of whom are from the conservancy workers involved in garbage collection and waste management, besides supervisory staff have undergone rapid antigen tests. Of the total, 14,410 workers tested negative for the virus.

Only four of the 117 staffers who were found positive are symptomatic and they have been shifted to Covid Care Centres, officials informed The Indian Express.

A total of 27,000 labourers and 4,000 NGO workers in the SWM department are engaged in waste management, while there are around 3,500 supervisory staff. The BMC plans to test all the department staffers and has procured one lakh test kits in the first week of July from a South Korean firm.