Beijing fired the highest-ranking officials yet over the handling of the coronavirus outbreak, replacing two provincial health officials in charge of virus-racked Hubei province with a trusted official from China’s national health agency, reported the Wall Street Journal.
The director and Communist Party secretary of Hubei’s provincial health committee were removed, state broadcaster China Central Television reported on Tuesday, making them the highest-level officials known to be punished for the government’s handling of the outbreak.
Both were succeeded by Wang Hesheng, deputy commissioner of the National Health Commission and a veteran health official who has been responsible for China’s health-care overhaul and medical administration, according to the commission’s website.