Coronavirus in China: Tibet punishes more than 100 officials over zero-Covid failures
- Tibet had seen only one imported Covid-19 case since 2020 until an outbreak earlier this month
- Heads roll also in hard-hit tourist hub Hainan, with provinces keen to show total commitment to zero-Covid ahead of key party congress, analyst notes
Tibet accounted for nearly 500 new Covid-19 infections out of close to 1,300 reported countrywide on Saturday, with neighbouring Xinjiang and the southern island of Hainan the other major hotspots.
Although the caseload may seem insignificant compared with that in other countries, such numbers are regarded as major outbreaks under China’s strict zero-Covid policy, which aims to swiftly snuff out local flare-ups with snap lockdowns, mass testing, extensive contact tracing and quarantine.
According to a report by the state-backed Tibet Daily, 22 officials in the regional capital Lhasa faced disciplinary action last week alone for negligence in coronavirus control.
Five of them had been fired and the rest handed stern warnings, the newspaper reported, citing local authorities.
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Tibet cobbles up 2,000-bed hospital as region prepares for its first major Covid-19 outbreak
Earlier, the Communist Party committee of the Tibetan city of Shannan bordering Nepal said six local officials had been pulled up over lapses in epidemic control work, of whom two were dismissed.