Slow To Handle New COVID-19 Outbreak, Chinese Government Sentenced Dozens Of Officials In Four Provinces

Illustration of COVID-19 in China. (Wikimedia Commons/zhizhou deng)

JAKARTA - The Chinese government has punished more than 30 officials in four provinces hit by the epidemic, for being slow in responding to the latest COVID-19 outbreak across China.

Those convicted included the deputy mayor, district leaders, heads of local health commissions, hospital management staff, and officials from the airport and tourism sectors.

The new COVID-19 outbreak in China, described as the most serious after Wuhan last year, had reached 1,507 confirmed cases as of the end of Saturday, citing the Global Times Sunday, August 8.

China's former Health Minister Gao Qiang, stressed the importance of closing loopholes in warding off imported infections in an article published on Saturday, expressing confidence that China will be able to contain the outbreak quickly, as it did in 2020.

Experts say punishment for officials who are incompetent in epidemic control work is appropriate, as the anti-epidemic battle should not allow loopholes, errors, or omissions by those responsible for the work.

In Nanjing, the capital of East China's Jiangsu Province, where the latest outbreak began, at least 15 officials received sentences on Saturday, including deputy mayor Hu Wanjin, Nanjing Health Commission Fang Zhongyou, as well as head of anti-epidemic control at Nanjing Lukou International Airport, Wang Chao. Ineffective epidemic prevention and control at airports has in fact fueled the outbreak.

Meanwhile, in the tourist city of Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, which is the main point of COVID-19 infection in the latest outbreak, 20 officials and public office holders were punished for their slow response to the turmoil.

The long list of penalties includes district officials, hospital management staff, tourism sector staff, and personnel associated with local performances for tourists. The show led to a massive spread of the virus to at least eight provinces and territories across China.

Illustration of COVID-19 in China. (Wikimedia Commons/Walter Grassroot)

Two other cities hit by the epidemic, Zhengzhou in Central China's Henan Province, and Yantai in East China's Shandong Province, also announced disciplinary measures against officials and personnel deemed ineffective in their management responsibilities and re-supervision of epidemic prevention and control.

Previously, Fu Guirong, group secretary of the Zhengzhou Health Commission, was removed from his post. The person in charge of the Zhengzhou Sixth People's Hospital, the designated hospital for the treatment of overseas arrivals infected with COVID-19, was also removed from office. The announcement of the sentence came on July 31, one day after the first case was reported in Zhengzhou.

The Zhengzhou Health Commission was urged to make adjustments to hospital management after many confirmed and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients in the city were found to be linked to the hospital, including cleaning staff, medical staff, inpatients, and their attendants.

Meanwhile, the Laishan Regent in Yantai was also dismissed for failing to comply with epidemic prevention and control. Yantai launched the second round of citywide nucleic acid testing on Saturday.

Separately, Peking University School of Public Health deputy head Wang Peiyu said the outbreak which started in Nanjing and spread rapidly to several provinces has shown gaps in epidemic control work in some places, such as airports, exposing mistakes and irregularities of some individuals holding important positions. in anti-epidemic work as a whole.

"This outbreak is a warning to all of us, the virus can slide at any time when we relax control. We must always tighten the chain of epidemic prevention," he said.

Previously, related to the spread of the Delta variant in China, the Wuhan authorities carried out COVID-19 tests on its 12 million residents since last Tuesday, after confirming the first case of the highly contagious variant.

"To ensure that everyone in the city is safe, city-wide nucleic acid testing was launched for everyone to full screen for positive results and asymptomatic infections," said Wuhan official Li Qiang, citing Reuters on Aug. 3.

Citing Xinhua, Sunday, August 8, as of Saturday last week, Wuhan had recorded 37 cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 and found 41 local asymptomatic carriers for mass testing.