Mumbai: With 47 new cases, MMR COVID-19 count reaches 170

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region's COVID-19 count reached 170 on Monday with 47 people testing positive for the novel coronavirus, officials said.

While 29 of the new infections are in Mumbai, the rest 18 are from other parts of MMR, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation officials said.

Also, an 80-year-old man, who suffered from acute respiratory distress, succumbed to COVID-19 at a private hospital here, taking the death toll in MMR to eight, including six in Mumbai, said the civic body's release.

He was a known case of hypertension and ischemic heart disease, and had tested positive for COVID-19 on March 29, the release added.

The sprawling region consists of Mumbai city and parts of adjoining districts of Thane, Raigad and Palghar.

The release said on Monday, 206 people were checked at OPDs in the metropolis and 61 people admitted for suspected exposure.

One COVID-19 patient was discharged after recovery, taking the number of such persons in MMR to 15, the BMC release said.

"There were 18 new cases detected during tests conducted between March 24-28. As these 18 cases are included in the list today, there appears to be a rise in cases. It is mainly due to vigorous contact tracing by the health teams and enhanced testing in public and private labs," the release said.

The civic body said, as a containment measure, its teams and police had surveyed areas where COVID-19 patients reside, including 1 lakh houses and 3.87 lakh people.