China's Communist Party ousts senior official at center of coronavirus outbreak

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.

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