Friday December 24th 2021
Reason: “insufficient rigor”
After the outbreak in Xi’an: China punishes officials
China reacts resolutely to even the smallest outbreaks of the coronavirus, including now. Those responsible in Xi’an City are now receiving disciplinary sentences. They are accused of not being strict enough in controlling and preventing the outbreak.
China’s Communist Party has imposed disciplinary sentences on dozens of party officials because of a corona outbreak in the city of Xi’an. The Central Disciplinary Commission announced that 26 party members were sanctioned for “insufficient rigor in preventing and controlling the outbreak”. During inspections, a too lax and uncoordinated reaction to the outbreak was found, for example during testing. This hindered the contact tracing in Xi’an.
A representative of the disciplinary commission announced that he would continue to crack down on “bureaucratic problems” in the fight against pandemics in the future. As examples, he cited those responsible who shirk their responsibility, take no action or make wrong decisions. The authorities in Xi’an reported 49 new corona cases on Friday. This increased the total number of cases of infection to more than 250.
The former imperial city of Xi’an had already imposed a strict lockdown on its more than 13 million residents on Wednesday. Existing travel restrictions have been tightened and the city has been sealed off from the outside. As of Thursday morning, only one family member from each household in Xi’an has been allowed to go shopping every other day. All schools and most shops were closed. The museum in which the world-famous terracotta army of the first Chinese emperor is exhibited also had to close.
China wants corona-free Olympic Games
The corona virus was first discovered in the central Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019. The spread in the People’s Republic was quickly contained through extremely strict lockdowns in just a few corona cases as well as through strict border controls, mass tests and quarantine requirements.
The People’s Republic is currently fighting against sources of infection in several cities, including important industrial metropolises in the east and south of the country. Authorities are keen to contain the virus before the Beijing Winter Olympics begin in February.