Officials punished as China logs highest daily virus cases since July

BEIJING: Transport services were cut off to a city of 11 million people near Beijing on Thursday as local officials were reprimanded for a Covid-19 outbreak that pushed China’s new infections to the highest single-day tally since July.

The virus first emerged in central China in late 2019, but since then authorities have largely brought the situation under control through travel restrictions, strict lockdowns and mass testing.

On Thursday, there were 51 more cases reported in Hebei, the National Health Commission reported — plus another 69 asymptomatic cases.

The vast majority of inbound and outbound flights to the city of Shijiazhuang were cancelled by Thursday afternoon, according to real-time flight tracker VariFlight, and trains suspended from leaving Shijiazhuang station.

Three officials from Shijiazhuang’s Gaocheng district — the epicentre of the latest outbreak — were reprimanded for their handling of the outbreak, the local disciplinary commission said Thursday.

The officials had allowed a woman who had tested positive to leave the area, the commission claimed.