JAKARTA - Beijing has fired its top health official, state media reported on Wednesday (May 25), as the Chinese capital battles a surge in COVID-19 infections, despite the country's strict zero-tolerance policy.
The city has reported hundreds of cases in recent weeks in the outbreak caused by the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the largest since the start of the pandemic.
Millions have been ordered to work from home with most bus and subway services suspended, while thousands were moved to quarantine hotels after multiple infections were detected in their housing complexes.
Yu Luming, the former head of the city's health commission, has been removed from his position, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing CNA from AFP May 25.
Yu is suspected of "serious violations of discipline and law, and is currently undergoing a disciplinary examination and surveillance investigation," Xinhua said, without providing further details.
China has stuck with its zero-COVID policy, imposing strict lockdowns and restrictions on movement in some cities, even as large parts of the world have turned to living with the coronavirus.
As a result, many parks, restaurants, schools and shops remain closed in the capital area.
The Communist Party's Beijing News also reported that Deputy Mayor Wang Hong had submitted his resignation on Wednesday, but the brief did not say why.
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For information, local authorities in the Bamboo Curtain country who are unable to contain the corona virus outbreak have been regularly fired or punished since the pandemic began.
This includes several officials in the southern metropolis of Shanghai, after a chaotic lockdown and outbreak brought the city to a halt.
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