MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd February, 2020) The Huanggang city authorities in China's virus-hit Hubei province have penalized 337 officials for their poor efforts to contain the new coronavirus epidemic, the city's mayor, Qiu Lixin, said on Saturday.
"Previously, we lacked knowledge about the new strain of coronavirus, and we did not fully prepare. Including some officials, they did not give enough attention and worked insincerely. This led to the emergence of bottlenecks and weaknesses in the work of [disease] prevention and control," Qiu told reporters.
Earlier, the city authorities decided to restrict their residents' movements. Each family is allowed to send one member outside once every two days to buy the essentials, while the rest of the family stays in.
China has been fighting the new strain of coronavirus since late December. The virus has already killed 259 people in China and infected about 12,000 others. The virus, which has spread to over 20 countries, prompted the World Health Organization to declare a global health emergency.
