Beijing: Nine officials from Hubei province, including the head of the provincial justice department, have been punished for allowing a released ex-prisoner who had shown symptoms of the novel coronavirus pneumonia to leave Wuhan and enter Beijing on Feb 22. The woman, surnamed Huang, was later confirmed to have the infection after being driven to Beijing by family members. The case has received wide public attention with people questioning how she could manage to leave Wuhan after the city was locked down and then enter Beijing while showing symptoms of the virus. A joint inspection team report released on Monday said dereliction of duty played a role and the root problem lay with prison management in Hubei province. The incident has endangered epidemic control work in Beijing, it said. The case was brought to light after the Xinyijiayuan community in Beijing’s Dongcheng district reported a confirmed case of infection on Feb 24. Its residents’ committee issued a notice saying a female patient surnamed Huang came to Beijing from Wuhan on Feb 22, and she had had a fever in Wuhan since Feb 18. The woman was quarantined the day after she arrived in the capital, and three of her relatives had also been under quarantine and medical observation since then, according to the notice.
– The Daily Mail-China Daily News exchange item
