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VIRUS-EPIDEMIC-CHINA-HEALTH
Red Cross official fired for failures at China virus epicenter
BEIJING, Feb 4, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A top Red Cross official working at the
epicentre of China’s coronavirus outbreak was dismissed for dereliction of
duty, authorities said Tuesday, following local anger over a lack of access
to donated medical equipment.
Hubei Red Cross Vice President Zhang Qin was fired for “dereliction of duty
while receiving and distributing donated funds and goods”, according to a
statement on the Hubei province party discipline commission’s website.
Two other officials received disciplinary warnings for the same charge, it
added.
The local chapter of the charity was the target of online anger last week
as social media users and Chinese media asked why frontline doctors in the
stricken province were still under-equipped despite donations pouring in.
Under local law, Chinese authorities supervise the charity’s “performance
of its functions and duties… and exercise supervision over its activities”.
Many on the Twitter-like Weibo platform asked if Wuhan, the province’s
capital, was a “black hole” with one user commenting that “the whole country
and the whole world’s supplies and masks aren’t enough to supply one city and
one province”.
The novel coronavirus has killed more than 400 people and infected a
further 20,000 in China, with most of the deaths and infections reported in
Hubei province, where the virus emerged at a Wuhan market in December.
The Red Cross Society of China said it had received 849 million yuan ($121
million) in cash donations as well as supplies as of January 31.
Chinese news outlet Caixin reported on Saturday that Red Cross warehouses
in Wuhan were full of donated supplies, including medical masks, but local
hospitals still had to wait for hours to receive small amounts of equipment.
Secretary-general Jagan Chapagain told AFP on Monday that he supported the
“deliberate” decision by Red Cross officials to withhold a number of the
donated masks in Wuhan because they were not safe for use by health
professionals working on the frontline.
“Clearly the Wuhan Red Cross hasn’t dealt with this type of situation
recently, (and) they had to massively scale up in a short period of time, so
to have some shortcomings is not totally unnatural,” he added.
The organisation said on Sunday it was sending personnel from its
headquarters to Wuhan in order to “ensure that the use of donated funds and
materials is standardized, efficient, open and transparent”.
On Tuesday China’s National Health Commission admitted it was still facing
“supply and demand conflicts” regarding protective gear, namely masks and
suits, in Hubei.
BSS/AFP/SSS/2012 hrs