Mumbai, Health authorities here confirmed the death of a senior Mumbai doctor due to COVID-19 even as the number of positive cases rose to 181 in Maharashtra on Saturday.

The positive cases include maximum 22 new cases in Mumbai, two in Nagpur, four in Palghar and Thane, who are undergoing treatment in different hospitals.

Among the positive cases under treatment, the condition of at least five has been described as 'critical'.

Besides, the death toll of COVID-19 patients increased from five to six including a senior Mumbai medico who died while under treatment at a private hospital on Thursday night.

His medical reports have come positive, and all the state's deaths till date are from Mumbai alone.

Recently two of the medico's close family members had travelled to the UK and further details of their health status is awaited, said an official.

Against the backdrop of the rapidly rising cases in Mumbai and the state in the past couple of days, a worried Maharashtra government has written to the Army, requesting it to remain on standby for rendering any 'medical emergency' assistance if required.

Presently, Mumbai has 73 positive cases, Pune 32, Sangli 24, Nagpur 11, Kalyan-Dombivali 7, Navi Mumbai 6, Thane 5, Yavatmal and Vasai-Virar 4 each, Ahmednagar 3, Satara and Raigad 2 each.

There is one patient each also in Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Ulhasnagar, Aurangabad, Palghar, Kolhapur, Gondia, besides one from Gujarat.

The Maharashtra government has again appealed to the people to remain indoors and avoid overcrowding in public places even for buying essentials even as it permitted all shops in urban centres to remain open 24x7.