Molson Hart

A court in China’s northeastern Heilongjiang province has said that people who “intentionally transmit the coronavirus pathogen” may face the death penalty.

The Heilongjiang High People’s Court also said that those who “refuse to be tested, quarantined, or treated” may be sentenced to up to seven years in prison, while those who “intentionally spread rumors” could receive up to 15 years’ imprisonment.

The mortality rate of the novel #coronavirus on the Chinese mainland stands at 2.1%, a top health official said Tuesday.

A newborn infant tested positive for the novel #coronavirus on Wednesday. The baby — whose mother carries the virus — returned a positive nucleic acid test at #Wuhan Children’s Hospital.

Peng Zhiyong, an intensive care unit doctor at Zhongnan Hospital in #Wuhan, said the diagnostic criteria health authorities set in early stages of the novel #coronavirus epidemic were too stringent and “endangered society.”