Tokyo: The Indian embassy here on Monday said the four Indians infected with the novel coronavirus on board the quarantined cruise ship moored off the Japanese coast were responding well to treatment even as 99 new cases of COVID-19 were reported, taking the number of those infected to 454 on the vessel.

The embassy in a tweet on Sunday said the number of infected Indians on the ship, Diamond Princess, rose to five with two more testing positive for the disease.

However, on Monday, the mission revised the figure to four.

"All 4 #COVID19 positive Indian nationals as on today receiving medical attention onshore are responding well to the treatment," it said in a tweet.

"@IndianEmbTokyo is in regular touch with Indians on-board #DiamondPrincess. They understand public health safety concerns in such situations," it added.

Meanwhile, the total number of people infected with COVID-19 on the ship rose to 454 after 99 more people tested positive for the disease.

A total of 138 Indians, including 132 crew and 6 passengers, were among the 3,711 people on board the ship that arrived at the Japanese coast earlier this month.

The ship was quarantined after a passenger who de-boarded last month in Hong Kong was found to be the carrier of the COVID-19 on the ship.

The Embassy said it was making efforts for early de-boarding of all the Indians from the ship after the end of the quarantine period and was in discussions with the Japanese government and the ship management company for the disembarkation modalities and welfare of Indians.

The US on Monday evacuated its 340 nationals from the ship.

According to a report in the AFP, the US embassy in Japan confirmed two jets took off from Japan with its citizens evacuated from the ship and those on board were expected to undergo a further 14-day quarantine period on US soil.

The US state department later said that 14 of the evacuees received had the virus, the report said.

China, where the virus outbreak occurred, is grappling to contain the deadly disease as the death toll climbed to 1,770 after 105 more people died, mostly in the worst-hit Hubei province, officials said on Monday.

Of the new deaths, 100 were from Hubei, three in Henan, and two in Guangdong.

The coronavirus outbreak originated in central China's Hubei province in December last year and has spread to several countries, including India.

Many countries have banned arrivals from China while major airlines have suspended flights to the country.

 

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Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The state Assembly on Tuesday passed 12 bills, including the Karnataka Rent (Amendment) Bill.

The objects and reasons of the Rent Bill said that it has been introduced to achieve the principle of "Minimum Government Maximum Governance" by decriminalisation minor offences and rationalization of monetary penalties as envisaged in the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of provisions) Act, 2023.

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The amendment says that if any landlord or tenant fails to present copy of the lease agreement for registration as required under clauses (a) or (b) of sub-section (3) of Section 4 or fails to file the particulars as required under the proviso thereto, he shall on conviction be punishable with a fine up to Rs 2,000 or with simple imprisonment for a month or both. The same is applicable to middlemen involved in it.

The other bills that were cleared are the Karnataka Land Revenue (Second Amendment) Bill, The Greater Bengaluru Governance (Second Amendment) Bill, Sri Malai Mahadeshwaraswamy Kshethra Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, The Chandraguthi Shree Renukamba Kshetra Development Authority Bill and Shree Chamundeshwari Kshetra Development Authority and Certain Other Laws (Amendment) Bill.

The Karnataka Cine and Cultural Activists (Welfare) (Amendment) Bill, Karnataka Labour Welfare Fund (Amendment) Bill, Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowment (Amendment) Bill, Karnataka State Universities (Second Amendment) Bill, Bayaluseeme Development Board (Amendment) Bill and Malnad Area Development Board (Amendment) Bill were also cleared.