China's 'zero case' policy is under stress due to sudden spike of COVID-19 cases
Beijing(PTI): China's Zero-COVID-19 case policy is increasingly coming under stress as the country is reporting a spike in the number of coronavirus infections from different provinces ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games with over 2,500 people undergoing treatment.
China's National Health Commission said on Thursday that 207 COVID-19 cases, including 156 new locally transmitted ones and 51 imported were reported on Wednesday.
It said 2,563 patients still receiving treatment, of whom 15 were in severe conditions.
These cases were in addition to 197 on Wednesday and 209 on Tuesday. These spike of cases were being reported amid growing concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant.
As of Wednesday, China's official count of coronavirus cases since it was first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019 was 101,890 with 4,636 deaths.
China has controlled the contagion by drastically limiting international travel but sporadic clusters of cases continued to surface in different parts of the country, putting its 'zero case' policy under stress.
Chinese officials reported a case of Omicron on December 13 in Tianjin city followed by a few more cases. However, there is not much information about its spread in the country.
The health officials also reported an outbreak of Delta strain sub-lineage AY.4 in Zhejiang province in the middle of the month which was reportedly brought under control.
The rising number of cases ahead of New Year's Eve is a cause of concern as China is poised to hold the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in a few weeks' time.
The Beijing Winter Olympics, the 24th edition of the showpiece that started way back in 1924, will be held from February 4 to 20.
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Court allows 5-day police custody of Bibhav Kumar in Swati Maliwal assault case
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court allowed five-day custodial interrogation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar in the Swati Maliwal assault case, sing the police remand was a "necessity" in the matter.
Metropolitan Magistrate Gaurav Goyal was hearing the application of Delhi Police which was represented by Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava. The police had sought seven day custody.
It is alleged that Kumar, who is Kejriwal's personal assistant, assaulted AAP MP Swati Maliwal at the CM's residence on May 13.
"Considering the submissions made on behalf of both the parties, I find there is a necessity of police custody remand in the present case. Accordingly, the application moved by the investigating officer (IO) is partly allowed and the accused is remanded to police custody for five days," the court said in its order passed around 12:45 AM Sunday.
It noted the prosecution's submissions about the need to take Kumar to Mumbai and other parts of the national capital to collect evidence, which was not possible without the accused's custody.
"Admittedly, the case is at a nascent stage. Allegations made in the FIR are corroborated in her (Maliwal's) statement recorded by the magistrate on oath and further, it is again corroborated in the medico-legal case (MLC) of the victim or complainant," the court said.
The magistrate also observed, "I am aware of the view of constitutional courts that the opportunity must be given to the investigating agency to complete the investigation in order to reach the truth of the matter but at the same time the rights of the accused are also to be protected."
Asking the Investigating Officer to take Kumar into formal custody, the court directed his medical examination every 24 hours and said the investigating agency would not subject the accused to "any torture."
It also allowed Kumar to meet his advocate and wife for half an hour each during the police custody.
Kumar's application for providing requisite medicines was also allowed.
The proceedings which commenced around 9: 15 PM Saturday saw initial arguments by Srivastava following which the magistrate said, "I find force in the arguments of the APP (Additional Public Prosecutor) that there were sufficient grounds to arrest the accused without notice."
The prosecutor made several arguments, including those mentioned in the remand application and also that the "means or weapon" by which Kumar assaulted Maliwal had to be recovered.
The vehement counter-arguments by Kumar's counsels continued for more than one-and-a-half hours. One of his counsels, Rajiv Mohan, claimed that Maliwal had lodged the FIR "belatedly after deliberation and concoction."
The Delhi Police arrested Kumar earlier on Saturday and his anticipatory bail plea was subsequently observed as becoming "infructuous" by a Delhi court.
