China‘s disciplinary agency announced Friday that dozens of officials had been punished for a viral epidemic in the city of Xi’an, the latest governmental reprimands under Beijing’s stringent zero-COVID policy.

The coronavirus was first discovered in China in late 2019, and the country is on high alert for additional illnesses as it prepares to host the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February.

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Due to a zero-COVID approach of rigorous border controls, lengthy quarantines, and targeted lockdowns, the world’s most populous nation has reduced cases to a bare minimum.

However, cases have risen in recent weeks, with Xi’an, home to the world-famous Terracotta Warriors, ordering all 13 million inhabitants to stay at home beginning Thursday, closing businesses, and undertaking numerous rounds of mass testing.

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According to the commission, 26 Communist Party officials were sanctioned by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on Friday for “insufficient rigour in preventing and controlling the outbreak.” 

On Friday, Xi’an reported 49 new cases, raising the total number of illnesses to above 250 in recent weeks.

Officials in China who are accused of failing to control the virus in their territory are routinely fired or penalised.

Inspections indicated a loose approach to testing and an unorganised response that hampered contact tracking in Xi’an, according to the statement.

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A Party discipline official said authorities will crack down on bureaucratic issues in disease control work such as shirking responsibility, not taking action, passing the buck and dealing with things in a negative way.”

After a cluster of cases in Inner Mongolia in October, a party secretary was fired, while the chairman of Zhengzhou city’s health commission was fired in August after instances this summer.

According to official media, cases from Xi’an have spread to five other cities, including Beijing, raising concerns about how quickly the virus can spread geographically across the enormous country.

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Since Thursday, all Xi’an households have been allowed to send one member outside every two days to buy supplies under lockdown conditions.

Residents who wish to leave the city must first request permission, and important attractions, such as the museum housing the Terracotta Army — China’s first emperor’s mausoleum — have been closed until further notice.