Work and production resume in South China

Shenzhen, Guangdong province has restored its normal working order and production starting Friday after the city achieved a zero-infection rate, authorities said in a statement on Thursday night.

Part of the city's communities, subdistricts and housing estates had been closed for stricter management and all the city's public transport had been suspended to help block the spread of the novel coronavirus.

A number of officials have also been removed from their positions for neglect of duty after the outbreak of the COVID-19 in the city, authorities said.

Huang Wenya, deputy director of Shenzhen Bureau of Public Security, and Jiang Feng, deputy head of Shenzhen's Futian district and Party chief and director of the district public security bureau, have been removed from their office for dereliction of duty after the cluster infections of COVID-19 were recently reported in the district.

According to a report from Shenzhen Special Zone Daily on Friday, Huang and Jiang are among the eight major officials who have been removed from their positions after the latest outbreak of COVID-19 in the southern metropolis.

Other officials who have been removed include Ye Wenge and Ma Yanfu, both deputy head of Futian district, Zhang Xinzhi, political commissar of Futian District Bureau of Public Security, Yao Quanbai, Party secretary and director of Futian District Health Commission, Zheng Hui, head of Shatou Street Party Working Committee, and Xu Yong, deputy Party secretary of Shatou Street Party Working Committee, said Shenzhen Special Zone Daily.

Accountability investigations into officials who may be responsible for the outbreak of cluster infections in Futian district have also been launched.

The city recorded 69 local confirmed cases and 36 asymptomatic carries on Thursday, all from control areas and groups, according to local health authorities.