Mumbai, Apr 2 (IANS): The Covid-19 death toll increased from 16 to 17, even as the number of positive cases rose from 335 to 338 in Maharashtra, officials said here on Thursday.

The latest victim is a 46-year-old woman from Dombivali town in Thane district who returned on March 10 from Bangkok who is suspected to have died of Covid-19 symptoms, but her test reports are awaited.

A patient of hypertension and diabetes, after her foreign trip, she had complaints of vomiting, fever and diarrhoea, for which she consulted a local doctor who a day later, on Tuesday, referred her to a local hospital.

However, considering her symptoms, she was advised to visit the Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai, but she refused and instead stayed at her home where she succumbed that day (March 31).

Now, the Thane Civil Hospital has sent swab samples of the deceased and five of her family members who are quarantined and their reports are awaited, besides a frantic search was launched for all her contacts during the three weeks of her illness, the officials said.

The number of positive cases shot up from 335 to 338, with 2 more cases in Pune and one in Buldhana.

Among the latest positive cases are a 7-day old male infant and his 26-year old mother, a policeman, a nurse, and a 53-year old man from Dharavi, Asia's biggest slum.

The state has so far notched 17 Covid-19 deaths, comprising patients from Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Pune and Buldhana.

In the wake of the Tablighi Jamaat scare, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday urged that all types of religious or social gatherings should be avoided to avoid a Delhi-like situation in Maharashtra.