China’s Communist Party on Thursday fired several senior officials in Hubei province, the center of the new coronavirus outbreak.The Central Committee said Jiang Chaoliang, Hubei’s party secretary since 2016, has been removed from his post, and will be replaced by Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong. Ying is an ally of Chinese President Xi Jinping. The coronavirus outbreak originated in the Hubei city of Wuhan, and the Communist Party also fired the Wuhan party boss, Ma Guoqiang.Chinese citizens have complained about how long it took for the government to acknowledge the outbreak, saying this slow response allowed the virus to spread. There are now 48,206 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Hubei, and the death toll stands at 1,310.More stories from theweek.com 8 Republicans join Democrats in vote to limit Trump’s military powers in Iran Elizabeth Warren flags Trump’s ‘descent into authoritarianism,’ wants Barr out, other candidates to speak up In Twitter rampage, Trump attacks federal judge set to sentence Roger Stone
