Investigation underway against responsible parties in mistreatment of Hebei farmer

Police in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province are looking into allegations that local epidemic-control personnel tied an elderly farmer to a tree for breaching a sweeping stay-at-home order, a statement said.

Released by authorities in the city's Gaocheng district in the early hours of Wednesday, the statement said a village official involved in the incident, identified as Yan, has been suspended from work.

Yan is being investigated on suspicions of illegally restricting personal liberty, the statement said.

After failed but repeated attempts to enter the village to buy cigarettes, the senior villager, identified as Cao, was tied to a tree and scolded by anti-epidemic officials on duty under the direction of Yan.

Authorities in Nanying township, which oversees the village, have suspended Yan and urged local officials to draw lessons from the incident and not repeat these mistakes.

The incident came as the city is ramping up efforts to contain more than two weeks of double-digit increases in local COVID-19 cases.

Sweeping stay-at-home orders and suspensions of outbound travel and public transit are among the measures taken to halt the spread of the disease.

Gaocheng district, where the city's first confirmed case was detected on Jan 2, was among the most strictly controlled regions. The district was designated as a high-risk area for COVID-19 infections on Jan 6.

The weekslong measures have begun reaping benefits, with only 19 confirmed cases reported on Tuesday. It is the first time the number has fallen below 20 in the past 10 days.