China Fires Health Officials after New COVID-19 Outbreak

Security personnel walk at a conference center in Qingdao, China. Reuters file photo
Security personnel walk at a conference center in Qingdao, China. Reuters file photo
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China Fires Health Officials after New COVID-19 Outbreak

Security personnel walk at a conference center in Qingdao, China. Reuters file photo
Security personnel walk at a conference center in Qingdao, China. Reuters file photo

A hospital president and the director of the health commission in the northern Chinese city of Qingdao have been fired after China’s latest coronavirus outbreak, authorities said Thursday.

A brief notice on the Qingdao city government’s official microblog Thursday said Health Commission Director Sui Zhenhua and Deng Kai, president of Qingdao’s thoracic hospital to which the cases have been linked, were placed under further investigation. No other details were given.

Authorities ordered testing of all 9 million people in the city after a total of 12 cases, including those not displaying symptoms, were discovered over the weekend, accounting for China’s first local transmissions in about two months.

Similar mass testing campaigns have taken place after previous outbreaks. Testing began with “close contacts, close contacts of those close contacts and more casual contacts,” gradually expanding to all districts of the city, Qingdao's health department said.

Qingdao is a major commercial harbor and industrial center known for electronics and the country’s most famous brewery, as well as the home of the Chinese navy’s northern fleet.

China, where coronavirus was first detected late last year, has largely eradicated the virus domestically but remains on guard against imported cases and a second wave of domestic transmission.

Qingdao on Wednesday reported more than 8 million tests have been conducted, with no additional cases discovered among the almost 5 million results returned.

On Thursday, the National Health Commission reported 11 new cases over the past 24 hours, 10 of them imported. The other case listed as asymptomatic was discovered Sept. 24 and had been recategorized as a confirmed case.

Hospitals were treating 240 people for COVID-19, with another 392 people being kept under observation in isolation for having tested positive without showing symptoms or for being suspected cases.
China has reported 4,634 deaths among 85,622 cases of the disease.



NATO's Rutte Visits Odesa, Says Support for Ukraine Unwavering

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, left, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, center, pose for photos with a wounded Ukrainian soldier during their visit to a hospital in Odesa, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 15, 2025.(Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, left, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, center, pose for photos with a wounded Ukrainian soldier during their visit to a hospital in Odesa, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 15, 2025.(Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
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NATO's Rutte Visits Odesa, Says Support for Ukraine Unwavering

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, left, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, center, pose for photos with a wounded Ukrainian soldier during their visit to a hospital in Odesa, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 15, 2025.(Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, left, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, center, pose for photos with a wounded Ukrainian soldier during their visit to a hospital in Odesa, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 15, 2025.(Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he had visited the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday and declared NATO's support for Ukraine was unwavering.

Rutte's visit was a show of solidarity with Kyiv following a Russian missile strike on the northern city of Sumy on Sunday that killed 35 people and wounded more than 100.

"Ukraine’s people have endured so much - not least Russia's Palm Sunday attack on Sumy. NATO support is unwavering," Rutte said in a post on social media platform X.

"We will continue to help Ukraine so it can defend today and deter future aggression, ensuring a just and lasting peace."

The trip took place as the United States - NATO's dominant power - is seeking to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and it followed fresh criticism of Zelenskiy by US President Donald Trump.

Zelenskiy said he and Rutte had visited a hospital where Ukrainian soldiers were recovering from their wounds.

"We spoke with our warriors. I presented state awards to our defenders. I am grateful to our guys for their strength, resilience, and for protecting our people," he said on X.

"I also presented awards to the combat medics," he added. "I thank everyone who defends, treats, endures, and supports Ukraine. You are our strength."