Coronavirus death toll in China crosses 1,000
Beijing: The death toll in China due to the novel coronavirus epidemic has crossed 1,000, while the confirmed cases have gone over 42,000, health officials announced on Tuesday.
As many as 108 deaths were reported on Monday and 2,478 new cases of the lethal disease were confirmed, the National Health Commission said in its daily report.
The death toll due to nCoV rose to 1,016 and the confirmed cases have gone up to 42,638, according to the commission.
Among the deaths, 103 were in Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, and one each in Beijing, Tianjin, Heilongjiang, Anhui and Henan, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the commission as saying.
A total of 3,996 patients infected with the coronavirus have been discharged from hospital till Monday after recovery, it said.
On Monday, 3,536 new suspected cases were reported and 849 patients became seriously ill, while 716 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, the commission said.
As many as 7,333 patients remained in severe condition and 21,675 people are suspected of being infected with the virus. Over 4.28 lakh close contacts had been traced and more than 1.87 lakh others are still under medical observation, according to the commission.
By the end of Monday, 42 confirmed cases, including one death, have been reported in in Hong Kong, 10 confirmed cases in Macao and 18 in Taiwan.
A team of international experts led by the World Health Organisation (WHO) arrived in China on Monday night to assist the Chinese health officials in containing the coronavirus outbreak.
The team is led by Dr Bruce Aylward, a veteran of past public health emergencies.
Composed of international experts in various fields, the expert group will work with their Chinese counterparts to increase understanding of the epidemic and guide global responses, state-run People's Daily reported.
China and the WHO will form a joint expert team to conduct in-depth discussions on and evaluations of the novel coronavirus epidemic and the containment, a National Health Commission spokesperson said.
They will provide suggestions on joint prevention and control of the coronavirus outbreak to China and other affected countries in the next step, Mi Feng, an official with the NHC, told a news conference in Beijing.
"We welcome international experts including those from the United States to take part in the joint expert team," Mi said, adding that appropriate arrangements for the team would be made after thorough consultation and communication.
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'Father didn't know minor son took car', says court, grants bail to businessman in accident case
Mumbai (PTI): A Mumbai court on Wednesday granted bail to a businessman, held in a car accident caused by his minor son that led to the death of a person last month, noting that prima facie the father lacked knowledge of his son taking out the vehicle for a drive.
Additional Sessions Judge R M Jadhav allowed his bail on a bond of Rs 50,000 and mainly relied on the statement of a watchman of the building where the businessman resides while granting him relief.
The accident occurred on February 5 near Somaiya College in Mumbai's Ghatkopar area.
As per police, the minor son of the businessman, booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, was driving a Kia Seltos when it collided with a scooter, leading to the death of its rider Dhrumil Patel. The deceased's wife Meenal, who was riding pillion, suffered grievous injuries in the crash.
The boy's father was arrested on February 10 and booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) provisions related to rash driving, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, act endangering life and safety of others as well as relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.
The accused, through his advocate Manish Singh, had argued during bail hearing in the court that he was neither present at the accident spot nor driving the vehicle at the relevant time.
He claimed had no knowledge of his son taking the vehicle on the day of the accident and was not responsible for the fatal crash.
Public Prosecutor P B Bankar opposed the bail application, contending the father allowed his son to drive despite knowing the minor did not possess a valid licence.
Advocate Ruben Mascarenhas, appearing for an intervenor (representing the victim's family) , highlighted that the minor operated an Instagram account which featured reckless driving stunts.
The applicant/accused had knowledge of this fact, but still allowed his son to drive the SUV. Hence, prima facie an offence was made out against him, he added.
The advocate submitted that the accused offered Rs 40 lakh to the victim's family to settle the case and claimed that the minor's Instagram history was tampered with.
Additional Sessions Judge Jadhav, after hearing all sides, relied on the statement of a watchman of the businessman's building while granting bail.
It is noted that at 10.15 pm (on the day of accident) the juvenile accused approached the watchman and asked for the car's keys (which were in the latter's possession at that time). The watchman claimed that without questioning the teenager, he handed over the keys to the minor as he happened to be the son of the accused, the court order said.
Later, when the father came down and found that his car was not there in the parking lot, he enquired with the watchman, and came to know the vehicle was taken by his son, it said.
"Prima facie, the material on record thus goes to show that the applicant/accused was not having knowledge of the fact that at the time of incident his son took the vehicle which is required to be noted here," the court held.
The court directed the businessman not to leave Mumbai without its permission and desist from any attempt to influence witnesses in the case.
