Coronavirus: China reports 27 new fatalities
Beijing: China on Sunday reported 27 new deaths from coronavirus, the lowest number of fatalities in more than a month, taking the death toll to 3,097, while the COVID-19 infections for the first time fell below 50 since the disease surfaced in Hubei province in January.
All the 27 deaths occurred in the virus-hit central Hubei province, China's National Health Commission (NHC) said.
The confirmed cases for the first time fell below 50 since COVID-19 surfaced in Hubei province in January. Of the 44 new cases reported on Saturday, 41 were in Wuhan in Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak.
The overall confirmed cases on the mainland has risen to 80,695 by the end of Saturday. The total number of deaths reached 3,097.
Over 20,500 patients were still undergoing treatment and 57,065 discharged after recovery, the NHC said.
Also on Saturday, three coronavirus cases in people arriving from abroad were reported, including two in Beijing and one in Gansu province. By the end of Saturday, 63 such cases had been reported, the NHC said.
By the end of Saturday, 109 confirmed cases including two deaths in Hong Kong, 10 confirmed cases in Macao and 45 in Taiwan including one death were reported.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Saturday that a total of 21,114 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported by 93 countries and regions outside China - an increase of 3,633 infections from the previous day.
The number of confirmed cases worldwide has risen to 101,927, the WHO said on Saturday. Outside China, 78 more people died of COVID-19, bringing the total deaths to 413, Xinhua reported, quoting a WHO report.
According to WHO's daily situation report on Saturday, there has been 3,486 deaths worldwide due to the coronavirus.
Colombia, the Vatican, Peru, Togo and Slovakia have reported cases of COVID-19 for the first time in the past 24 hours, the WHO report said.
The world health body has revised the transmission classification of Iceland, Palestine and Cameroon from "imported cases only" to "local transmission", bringing the total number of countries and regions where local transmission emerged to 45 in addition to China.
It said the spread of COVID-19 can be significantly slowed or even reversed through implementing robust containment and control activities.
China and other countries are demonstrating that the spread of the virus can be slowed and impact reduced through the use of universally applicable actions, WHO said in a statement, referring to measures such as working across society to identify people who are sick, bringing them to care, following up on contacts, and training health workers.
It underlined that containing and slowing the spread of the virus helps buy time for health systems and all of society to prepare and for researchers to identify effective treatments and develop vaccines.
"Allowing uncontrolled spread should not be a choice of any government, as it will harm not only the citizens of that country but affect other countries as well," it said.
The WHO said it will continue to work with all countries, partners and expert networks to coordinate the international response, develop guidance, distribute supplies, share knowledge and provide people with the information so as to protect themselves and others.
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Woman shot dead in Delhi; police suspect link to 2023 murder of her husband
New Delhi (PTI): A 44-year-old woman was shot dead at point-blank range in northwest Delhi's Shalimar Bagh on Saturday, with police suspecting the killing to be a fallout of the 2023 murder of her husband, an official said.
The deceased was identified as Rachna Yadav, a resident of Shalimar Bagh and the resident welfare association (RWA) president of her locality. According to police, she was shot in the head and died on the spot.
Police said Rachna was originally from Bhalswa village in north-west Delhi. Investigators suspect that the murder is linked to the killing of her husband, Vijendra Yadav, who was shot dead in 2023. The case concerning that murder is currently under trial.
"In the 2023 case, Vijendra Yadav was allegedly murdered due to previous enmity. Bharat Yadav and five others were named as accused. While five of the accused were arrested and are facing trial, the main accused, Bharat Yadav, is still absconding and has been declared a proclaimed offender," a senior police officer said.
Police said Rachna was the main witness in her husband's murder case, and her testimony was considered vital for the prosecution. Investigators believe her killing may have been aimed at weakening the case and intimidating other witnesses.
CCTV footage has surfaced in the Rachna Yadav murder case, clearly capturing the accused who allegedly shot her. Police said the assailant's accomplice was already waiting nearby on a sports bike bearing a Delhi registration number, facilitating a swift escape, according to an official.
Police said a PCR call was received at around 10.59 am at Shalimar Bagh police station, reporting that a woman had been shot.
Local police teams rushed to the spot and found Rachna lying on the road in a pool of blood. An empty cartridge was recovered from the scene, officials said.
According to the investigation, when Rachna was returning after meeting a neighbour, two assailants intercepted her. One of them allegedly stopped her and asked her name. When she identified herself, the attacker pulled out a firearm and shot her in the head before fleeing the spot along with his accomplice, police said.
Preliminary inquiry suggested that the woman was targeted, and the assailants appeared to have prior knowledge about her identity and movements.
"Crime Team and FSL teams were immediately called, and the scene of the crime was thoroughly examined. CCTV footage from nearby areas is being scanned to identify the assailants," Additional Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Bhisham Singh said.
Prima facie, it appears that the present case is linked to the earlier murder, he said. "We are re-examining all aspects of the 2023 case and the role of the proclaimed offender (Bharat)," Singh said, adding that multiple teams have been formed to trace the shooters and those who may have masterminded the crime.
Speaking to reporters, Kanika Yadav, the deceased's elder daughter, alleged that the murder was planned by Bharat.
"Some of the accused in my father's murder case are lodged in Tihar Jail. Despite that, they are planning such crimes. Bharat Yadav planned and executed my mother's murder," she alleged.
Kanika claimed her mother was killed because she was standing firm as a witness in her father's murder case.
"They were afraid that they would be convicted on the basis of her statement. That is why my mother was killed. My father was murdered in 2023, and the case is still pending before the court," she said.
Police said Rachna is survived by two daughters, one of whom is married, while the younger daughter lived with her. Security has been stepped up in the area, and further investigation is underway, police added.
