Coronavirus: Death toll crosses 3,000 in China, cases surpass 100,000 globally
Beijing: China has reported 28 new fatalities from the deadly coronavirus outbreak, taking the death toll in the country to 3,070, Chinese health officials said on Saturday as the rapid spread of the epidemic hit a milestone, infecting more than 100,000 people globally.
The virus that first emerged in China in December last year has spread to 97 countries and has infected 102,180 people, including 80,651 in China, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus tracker.
China's National Health Commission (NHC) on Saturday said it received reports of 99 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection and 28 deaths on Friday on the Chinese mainland.
The 28 deaths were all reported in the virus epicentre Hubei Province and its capital Wuhan, the NHC said.
Meanwhile, 99 new suspected cases were reported it said, a significant milestone in China's over two-month-long fight against the dreaded virus as the cases have for the first time dropped below 100.
The overall confirmed cases on the mainland have reached 80,651 by the end of Friday. This included 3,070 people who had died of the virus, 22,177 patients still undergoing treatment and 55,404 others who were discharged after recovery, the NHC said.
Also on Friday, 24 imported cases (people coming to China from abroad) of the novel coronavirus infection were reported on the mainland, including 17 in Gansu Province, three in Beijing, three in Shanghai and one in Guangdong Province. By the end of Friday, 60 imported cases were reported, the NHC said.
By the end of Friday, 107 confirmed cases, including two deaths have been reported in Hong Kong, 10 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 45 in Taiwan, including one death have been reported.
While the cases of the COVID-19 in China are on the decline about 19,700 more cases were reported globally taking the overall total of the cases, including from China to over a lakh, state-run CGTN reported.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday that additional five countries -- the Philippines, New Zealand, Ireland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia -- have seen local transmission of the COVID-19.
Outside China, a total of 97 countries and regions have reported.
Bhutan, Cameroon, Serbia and South Africa have reported cases of the COVID-19 for the first time in the past 24 hours as of Friday morning, the WHO report said.
Meanwhile, Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme said there is no evidence right now suggesting the COVID-19 will disappear in summer, urging countries to fight the new virus decisively at the current stage.
"We do not know yet what the activity or behaviour of the virus will be in different climatic conditions," Ryan said, warning against the assumption that the virus would just disappear on its own in the summertime like influenza.
"We have to assume the virus will continue to have the capacity to spread," state-run Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.
Besides, Ryan stressed the disease can emerge anywhere on the planet, for instance, Ebola very often emerged in Africa, while the last pandemic influenza H1N1 emerged in North America.
He called on countries and societies to avoid "blame culture" and to do all the things needed to save lives, he said. According to the tracker, in the US, at least 299 cases of coronavirus have been detected and 14 people have died due to it.
In Italy, 4,636 have been detected and 197 have died. In Iran, 4,747 cases of the COVID-19 have been reported and 124 people have died.
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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.
