Station staff and police maintain order at train depot in Jilin, Northeast China's Jilin Province on Wednesday. The city suspended all intercity train services, and urban communities and villages were closed off amid a rebound of COVID-19. Photo: cnsphoto

Due to slacking off on epidemic prevention and control, at least two local government and Party officials were ousted this week, which analysts believe, shows China's determination to contain the coronavirus and the country's highly-responsible attitudes toward people's health and safety.

Li Pengfei, Party chief of Shulan, Jilin city in Northeast China's Jilin Province, where sporadic COVID-19 cases rebounded, was ousted from his post on Friday. So far, more than 8,000 people have been quarantined in Jilin and Liaoning provinces after cluster infections occurred in Shulan. 

Jilin Province reported two confirmed COVID-19 cases on Friday, all related to previous cases. Three patients in the province continue to receive treatment in hospitals, all from Jilin city and related to the rebound in Shulan. 

Besides, the Dongxihu district government in Wuhan, Hubei Province announced on Monday that Zhang Yuxin, a subdistrict-level Party chief, who is allegedly responsible for the rebound of six infections in a community, was ousted from his post after a liaison group under China's State Council rushed to the community to oversee the prevention and control work.

The anti-epidemic works should never be slackened, and local officials should be prepared for a "protracted battle," said Zhu Lijia, a professor of public management at the Chinese Academy of Governance, on Saturday.

According to Zhu, the removal and accountability of officials will serve as a warning to others.

The central government has attached great importance on people's safety, and repeatedly stressed the responsibility of local government in curbing the spread of the virus, said Zhu, noting that, the epidemic prevention and control is the most crucial task currently, as far as the reality (rebound) is concerned. 

China has made great efforts in regulating and penalizing government officials for dereliction of duty, especially after the coronavirus epidemic outbreak.

Ma Mingfu, the head of human resources and social security bureau of Jiamusi, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, was ousted from his post in late April for joining a get-together meal, which violated the regulation on avoiding mass clustering.

In mid-February, two government officials from Harbin, Heilongjiang, were removed from their posts for underestimating the seriousness of the epidemic and failing to exercise leadership in epidemic prevention and control.