New Delhi: A 56-year-old resident of Dharavi area of Mumbai, who had contracted the novel coronavirus, died on Wednesday evening, prompting civic authorities to seal the building where he lived.
Densely-populated Dharavi is famous as one of the largest slums in Asia.
The man, who lived in a building constructed under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) scheme, had no history of foreign travel, said a health official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). He had a garment shop at AKG Nagar in Dharavi.
After he died at nearby government-run Sion Hospital, some 300 tenements in the building and around 30 shops were cordoned off by police. Residents of the building have been quarantined at home.
The police faced stone-pelting as they tried to disperse a crowd that had gathered in the area after learning about the man's death, an official said, adding that a group of people started arguing with policemen and some of them started throwing stones.
Nobody was injured in the incident and the police have registered a case against unidentified persons, he added.
Mumbai has recorded over 180 coronavirus cases and about a dozen deaths of COVID-19 patients so far.
State Health Minister Rajesh Tope earlier on Wednesday said the number of cases would increase further as there were around 5,000 persons in "high-risk" category.
Six coronavirus patients — three men and as many women — died during the day, five of them in Mumbai. The women patients were 84, 73 and 63 years old, respectively.
"One of them died at the civic-run Nair Hospital while two succumbed at private hospitals in the city," said a health official.
A 75-year-old man and a 51-year-old man died at Mumbai hospitals. A 50-year-old man died in adjoining Palghar district, officials said. It was the first death reported from Palghar, a predominantly tribal district.
"None of these six persons had foreign travel history. So we are tracing the people who came in contact with the deceased in the last few weeks," the official said.
As many as 705 persons are hospitalised across the state. Of the 7,126 samples sent for testing, 6,456 tested negative while 335 were positive. In other cases, results were awaited. Forty-one coronavirus patients have been discharged after recovery.
(With inputs from PTI)
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