Officials punished for reports of "minus infections" of virus

Several officials have received punishment for reporting "minus infections" of the novel coronavirus in the city of Jingmen in central China's Hubei Province.

The Hubei provincial commission for discipline inspection of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the provincial supervisory commission decided to admonish Zhang Aiguo, secretary of the CPC Jingmen city committee, and city mayor Sun Bing. The authorities also gave warnings and demerits to Liang Zaoyang, the city's deputy mayor, and two other officials of Jingmen's health commission.

Jingmen's related departments and officials failed to grasp policies precisely, did not fully fulfill responsibilities and failed to check data strictly, which had caused negative influence, authorities said.

Jingmen reported "minus 107" infections of the novel strain of coronavirus on Feb. 19.