Where in the course of the trial of any jury action in the Court the presiding judge is satisfied that any member of the jury is, by reason of illness, unable to continue to serve on the jury or ought, for any other reason, to be discharged from further service on the jury, it shall be lawful for the judge to discharge such member, and in any such case or in any case where in the course of such a jury trial, a member of the jury dies, the remaining members of the jury (if they are not less than 10 in number) shall in all respects be deemed to constitute the jury for the purpose of the trial and any verdict returned by them whether unanimous or by majority shall be of the like force and effect as a unanimous verdict or a verdict by majority of the whole number of the jury.